ATLANTA — Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Science may help shed some light on the answer, at least when it comes to heart health: A new study finds that people with heart disease have a higher risk of death if they’re not married.
Scientists have long known that divorced individuals face an increased risk of death in general, but this is among the first study to evaluate the connection between marital status and heart disease-related conditions and deaths in divorced, separated, widowed, or never married patients.
“I was somewhat surprised by the magnitude of the influence of being married has (on heart patients),” says Dr. Arshed Quyyumi, lead researcher and professor of medicine at Emory University, in an American Heart Association news release. “Social support provided by marriage, and perhaps many other benefits of companionship, are important for people with heart disease.”
The study followed 6,051 patients (average 63-years-old) for nearly four years who were undergoing cardiac catheterization for CAD. Patients with other prominent issues like severe heart valve damage, anemia, congenital heart disease, cancer or active inflammatory disease were excluded from the study.
The researchers discovered alarming statistics based off of their findings in unmarried patients through phone interviews and medical chart abstractions.
Specifically, being unmarried was associated with 24 percent higher death from any cause; 45 percent risk of death from cardiovascular disease; and 52 percent higher risk of cardiovascular death/heart attack. In terms of which patients and how much higher the risk of cardiovascular death/heart attack when unmarried, the authors determined that those who were never married had a 40 percent higher risk; divorced or separated patients had a 41 percent higher risk; and widowed patients had a 71 percent higher risk.
They observed that patients who were unmarried were more likely to be female and black, and suffer from hypertension, heart failure, or high cholesterol.
During the follow-up, 1,085 deaths were reported, including 688 cardiovascular deaths and 272 heart attacks.
Researchers recommend that doctors put more stock in a patient’s marital status upon treatment. They also mention that the psychological conditions that are often linked with being unmarried calls for more research in aggressive follow-up and therapy in future studies.
The study’s findings were published in December in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Constant aggravation, yelling and screaming are all good exercise for the heart muscle. You can only obtain those benefits through marriage. Those of us who have had the pleasure of multiple marriages, accompanied by the best heart exercise of all, divorce, may live for ever. Finally a recognized benefit from all the aggravation we put up with.
littledrop, If you understand and are ahead of the shtls then you may have a chance at living enough to go through the same crap.
Happy trails to you and it.
How much of this can be accounted for by the fact that if you’re married/living with someone:
It is far more likely there will be someone there when someone has heart attack to urge their partner to call 911, or call 911 and assist?
My thoughts exactly! Duh
Probably call 911 after she knows you’re dead. Unless you don’t have money, then she will work hard to keep you alive until the medics arrive and demand the best of care for you until she can get some sort of life policy on your dying ass.
You are married. You have a good spouse showing concern for you. You feel need to survive for your spouse Or you live alone. You often think, is anything important, no one to show daily concern. Why is anyone surprised at this study.
Hey dumbskit. I live through years a hell because I love my children. Today, with second wife,,,who can go kcuf herself. I’m tired and don’t want this ball crp anymore. I’ll go look up a porn site for a jolly,,,but that gets boring also. Dubgraa/s
You mean that if I get rid if my bich and her gigolo that I might live longer. Maybe I’ll keep them both. What’s worth living if you can’t trust someone?
Fk stupid wimmin.
Doesn’t take into account those married to women who GIVE heart attacks!!
Women initiate divorces almost 70% of the time.
College educated women, initiate divorce in almost 90% of the time.
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-college-educated-women-initiate-divorce-9-times-more-often-than-college-educated-men
At what point can we define college education for woman as being homicidal for men?
This is a result of having someone to advocate for you in the hospital and with the doctors. If you don’t have that they tend to ignore you at the very least. It helps to have someone they are going to have to answer to.
I am 80 next B-day Never been married. Boo!
Actually, everybody has exactly the same risk of death — 100%.