Bad marriage can increase risk of heart attack

I thought about "BB", in New Orleans, when I read this article. I guess she doesn't mind that she has a bad marriage with her cheating husband. Maybe she can ignore the fact that he bought his girlfriend a new Mercedes. Poor "BB". Well she won't be seeing him, in person, in a few years anyway.


BY JORDAN LITE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER



A lousy marriage can be a real heartbreaker.

Unhappy couples are more likely to have a heart attack or chest pains than those who have healthy marriages, a study in today's Archives of Internal Medicine says.

"There is evidence that people are more likely to mentally replay negative events compared to positive ones, and this might trigger biological reactions that can lead to a heart attack and angina," said Roberto DeVogli, a lecturer in epidemiology at University College London.

DeVogli polled 9,011 British civil servants about how often their spouse, close relative or friend gave them "worries, problems and stress."

Those in bad relationships were 34% more likely to experience heart problems over the 12 years DeVogli followed them. Sixty-two percent of those in the study were married.

Previous research has also linked bad marriages to heart attack and congestive heart failure.

One study found that unhappily married women were three times more likely to have metabolic syndrome, a collection of symptoms that can lead to heart disease and diabetes.

A study published in July in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that women who silenced themselves during spats with their husband were four times more likely to die than those who spoke up.

Although other research has found that being married has protective effects on a person's health, DeVogli stressed, "It's not only important to have a partner, but what kind of partner you have."