Philadelphia Best

Being married ’protects your health’
Dr Carter said: “We need to unpick the underlying reasons a bit more, but it appears there’s something about being married
that is protective, not only in patients with heart disease but also those with heart disease risk factors.
Dr Mike Knapton, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “The take-home message is
that our social interactions, as well as medical risk factors such as high blood pressure, are important determinants of both our health and wellbeing.
They suspect marriage helps buffer against big heart disease risk factors, including cholesterol and high blood pressure.
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Marriage appears to be good for your health, boosting your survival chances if
you have a major heart risk factor such as high cholesterol, say researchers.
“Whether you are married or not, if you have any of the main risk factors for
heart disease, then you can call upon loved ones to help you to manage them.”
Men and women in their 50s, 60s and 70s with high cholesterol were 16% more likely to be
alive at the end of the 14-year ACALM study if they were married rather than single.
The same was true for diabetes and high blood pressure, with married people having a survival advantage.
All of these people had high blood pressure, cholesterol or diabetes.

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