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Being unmarried should be considered a risk factor for heart problems, study finds

Doctors should check the marital status of patients as part of heart assessments, say study authors  - © Tetra Images / Alamy
Doctors should check the marital status of patients as part of heart assessments, say study authors - © Tetra Images / Alamy

Doctors should take marital status into account when assessing the heart attack and stroke risk of patients, a major British study has found.

Researchers at Keele University analyzed dozens of studies involving more than two million people and discovered that compared to married people, those who were never married, divorced or widowed were 42 per cent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

They were also 42 per cent more likely to die from from heart disease and 55 per cent more likely to die from a stroke.   Usually the risk of cardiovascular disease is attributed to risk factors such as age, sex, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes.

But the researchers say the new findings suggest that marital status should also be added to the list.

Senior author, Mamas Mamas, Professor of Cardiology at Keele University, in Staffordshire, said:  “Our work suggests that marital status should be considered in patients with or at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and should be used alongside more traditional cardiac risk factors to identify those patients that may be at higher risk for future cardiovascular events.”

Heart attack: Symptoms and treatment
Heart attack: Symptoms and treatment

Researchers say the findings show that marriage has a protective effect on cardiovascular diseases which could be attributed to the additional social and emotional support provided by having a spouse. It is thought that long term partners can help spot problems early and encourage loved ones to take their medication. Married people are also known to have better financial security, enhanced wellbeing, and better friendship networks.

They research looked at 34 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.

Lead researcher, Chun Wai Wong, added: "The important message is to evaluate patients' social circumstances including marital status and consider the need for additional support as part of the holistic management."