Loneliness, arguing can affect heart

If you want to improve your heart health or blood pressure, avoid loneliness and arguments with your spouse. Psychological emotions and the state of marital relationships may bear heavily on the state of the heart health of seniors, according to new research.

According to one study of 150 older married couples, marital spats may do harm to your coronary arteries. Other new medical research indicates that seniors who are lonely are at greater risk for high blood pressure, strokes and heart disease. The message is clear: don't fight with your spouse and continue to immerse yourself in social situations as you age.

Indeed, according to researchers at the University of Utah, hardening of the coronary arteries is more likely in wives when they and their husbands express hostility during marital disagreements, and more common in husbands when either they or their wives act in a controlling manner.

"A low-quality relationship is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease," said Tim Smith, a professor at the University of Utah. "Disagreements are an unavoidable fact of relationships. But the way we talk during disagreements gives us an opportunity to do something healthy."

For its part, loneliness is a major risk factor in older Americans, according to scientists at the University of Chicago.

Lonely people have blood pressure readings that are as much as 30 points higher than in non-lonely people, even when other factors such as depressive symptoms or perceived stress are taken into account.

After studying the effects of loneliness on 229 people aged 50 to 68, the Chicago researchers concluded that, in addition to weight loss and regular exercise, seniors should try to eliminate loneliness to help their blood pressure.

"Improvements in a sense of social connectedness may have clinical benefits comparable to lifestyle modifications," wrote medical researchers, Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo, in a recent research missive from the University of Chicago.

Psychological and emotional improvements alone won't ward off heart problems in seniors.

"People get heart disease for lots of reasons," said Smith.

"If someone said, 'What's the most important thing I can do to protect my heart health?' my first answers would be, 'Don't smoke,' 'Get exercise' and 'Eat a sensible diet.' But somewhere on the list would be, 'Pay attention to your relationships.'"

This story provided by StatePoint Media.