Married People are More Likely to Survive Heart Attack Compared to Singles & Divorced
Marriage Isn't as Bad as Some People Think, It's Literally Good For Your Heart
They say that marriage is like a walk in the park -- the one where you walk precariously in a Jurassic Park. However, marriage isn't as bad as some people made it out to be. According to a new study, people who have tied the knot are more likely to survive a heart attack than those who are still single or who are already divorced.
Apart from having a higher chance of surviving a heart attack, married people are also more likely to leave the hospital earlier. The study was presented at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Conference in Manchester, U.K.
The Importance of a Support Group
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This is most likely because of the social support that married people get during their ordeal and not the marriage per se, according to the British researchers. Patients can get the needed emotional support, not just from one's spouse but also from friends or support groups.
"What we're saying is that single and divorced patients should have appropriate support networks after going home from the hospital that could replace the sort of support you can benefit from in a marriage," said Dr. Rahul Potluri, who is one of the authors of the study and founder of the Algorithm for Comorbidities, Associations, Length of stay and Mortality (ACALM) Study Unit.
The researchers took into account British men and women who were hospitalized between January 2000 and March 2013. They found out that those who are married were 14 percent more likely to survive a heart attack by the end of the study compared to those who are single.
Divorce Patients Suffer Worst
Furthermore, those who went through the process of divorce have higher chances of dying by about 6 percent during the seven to eight years of follow-up compared to those who never got married.
"We hypothesize that psychosocial factors associated with divorce, such as depression, anxiety and stress, increase the risk of dying after a heart attack," said Potluri.
The findings of the study also suggested that those who were married stayed in the hospital for only six days on the average while single patients stay for eight days and those divorced stay for seven days.
"These findings suggest the support offered by a spouse can have a beneficial effect on heart attack survivors, perhaps helping to minimise the impact of a heart attack," said Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation.
