Love and marriage, both have connection with your heart. Marriages are good for your physical as well as your mental health. And now, a study has also established scientific evidences into it.
A new study has found that married couples are less likely to develop heart diseases than those who are single, divorced and widowed.
The researchers carried study on 3.5 million adults in America and found heart diseases were less likely to develop in them.
The researchers at New York University’s Langone Medical Center says, married people have a significantly decreased risk of developing heart problems than their widowed, single or divorced counterparts.
Study author Dr. Carlos Alviar, an NYU Langone cardiology fellow, said that this first of its kind study provides the most comprehensive look at the relation between relationship status and cardiovascular disease.
“Most of the studies done earlier compared married to unmarried without making a distinction between types of marital statuses and mostly focused on one type of cardiovascular disease. We had information that could compile all of this in a comprehensive way,” Alviar said while highlighting the good aspects of the study.
For their study, the researchers analyzed rates of four types of cardiovascular disease in people in the age group 21 and 99.
The four types of cardiovascular disease include:
- Coronary Artery Disease: This is the most common form of heart disease and occurs when arteries leading to the heart become clogged, often causing a heart attack.
- Cerebrovascular Disease: This affects circulation of blood flow to the brain.
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: This is a form of aneurysm occurring below the chest usually due to hardened arteries.
- Peripheral Artery Disease:, This is a condition in which fatty plaque buildup decreases the flow of blood from the heart to the legs.
During the study, the researchers found that marriage can have a protective effect for heart health. The findings of the study say, married people had a 5 percent decreased risk of cardiovascular disease compared to unmarried people.
People who were divorced or widowed was associated with a greater likelihood of vascular disease compared with being single or married. Divorce was linked with a higher risk of any vascular disease.
For people age 50 and younger, marriage is associated with 12 percent lower odds of any vascular disease, but this dropped to 7 percent for those ages 51 to 60 and only 4 percent for those age 61 and older.
Explaining the link between heart woes and marriages, Alviar said, “People who have a spouse might be more compliant with medical appointments, screening processes, more compliant with medications and a healthy lifestyle as opposed to people who are by themselves. And being alone also produces not only psychological stress but physical stress, and that might be a risk factor. Studies show married people have lower levels of inflammation in the blood vessels and inflammation can lead to blockages.”
The findings are scheduled to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 63rd Annual Scientific Session in Washington.
