Although marriage causes a certain levels of stress for men and women, a new study says it is good for your heart. Marriage may reduce the risk of having a heart attack and death, as a result, in both men and women.
Yesterday, January 31, the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology published a new study which collected data from a heart attack registry in Finland. The registry contained information on 15 330 men and women between the ages of 35 and 99, who had acute coronary events in the period 1993 to 2002. There was also information on marital status, size of the household, and other demographic factors. The people were from four different regions in Finland and the overall hearth attack risk was similar for men and women.
Just over half of these people, or 7,703 had died within a month of the heart attack. The attacks occurred almost equally among men and women, but between 58 and 66 percent more likely among unmarried men than married man. Unmarried women had between 60 and 65 percent higher risk for coronary events than married women. The risk of dying within a month of a heart attack was 60 to 168 percent higher for single men and 71 to 175 percent for single women, compared to those who were married.
The possible reasons why marriage has a positive effect on heart health were also discussed by the researchers. The better financial status, better health habits and the social support are one of the main advantages of being married, and compared to the reported higher rates of depression and the poorer health among unmarried and divorced, could explain it. Also being married means in most cases there will be someone to call the emergency when such events happen. When you are married, there is another person who cares about your overall health, eating habits, the regular intake of prescribed medicines, and usually single adults don’t maintain a healthy lifestyle.
According to the report by Dr Aino Lammintausta from Turku University Hospital in Finland, marriage seems to be more beneficial for women. Marriage, whether it is a healthy and happy one, or the spouses have problems, gives a better prognosis for people with cardiovascular issues. Further studies should be done to better understand the relationship between heart attacks and marriage, but doctors say that clearly, there’s a strong connection between marriage and overall health.
