Why marriage reduces risk of heart disease

People who are married are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease or die from a heart attack or stroke than those who remain single, according to a new study.

The report, published in the European Heart Journal, used data from 34 previous studies published between 1963 and 2015, and involved more than two million people aged between 42 and 77 from Europe, Scandinavia, North America, the Middle East, and Asia.

The researchers found that, compared with married people, adults who were “divorced, widowed or never married” were 42% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, and 16% more likely to develop coronary artery disease.

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Unmarried people were also 43% more likely to die from heart disease, and 55% more likely to die from strokes.

The report says the findings are so significant that a patient's marital status should be regarded as a significant risk factor, like blood pressure or smoking, the Daily Mail reports.

Senior report author Mamas Mamas, professor of cardiology at Keele University and a consultant cardiologist at the Royal Stoke Hospital, believes there may be a variety of explanations for the trend. “Being married makes people more likely to seek medical help,” he says. “Often, particularly men say, ‘I noticed symptoms in my chest but I wasn’t going to come – my wife made me.’”

Patients are also more likely to take their medication if they are married, possibly because their spouse reminds them, Mamas adds.

He continues: “In medicine, we ask about marital status as a matter of course, but we don’t really think about it as a risk factor.

“What this study shows is that medics should think about what additional risk this gives the patient both in developing their first heart attack or stroke, or having better long-term outcomes.”

Regardless of marital status, people can reduce their risk by leading a healthy lifestyle, not smoking and getting regular physical checks. Exercise is important, too.

“I often advise couples to exercise together because they are more likely to stick with it,” Mamas says. “Go to the gym together, run together or cycle together - doing activities together strengthens the relationship and improves both partners’ cardiovascular health.”