Stay Positive! It Keeps Your Heart Healthy

First Posted: Jan 09, 2015 07:03 PM EST
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Pessimists may have heavier hearts-literally. A recent study published in Health Behavior and Policy Review found that a positive mental attitude could influence the health of your heart. For pessimists, this could mean that their hearts are more likely to be bogged down by stress and potentially at an increased risk of certain cardiovascular health problems.

For the study, researchers examined the associations between optimism and heart health in over 51,000 adults.

"Individuals with the highest levels of optimism have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts," said lead study author Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois, in a news release. "This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health."

Researchers measured all participants heart health by using seven metrics: blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose and serum cholesterol levels, dietary intake, physical activity and tobacco use - the same metrics used by the American Heart Association to define heart health and being targeted by the AHA in its Life's Simple 7 public awareness campaign.

In accordance with AHA's heart-health criteria, the researchers allocated 0, 1 or 2 points that represented poor, intermediate and ideal scores, with final results ranging between 1 to 14. A higher total score was indicative of better health.

Participants who ranged in age from 45-84 were also required to complete surveys that assessed their mental health and physical health, including levels of optimism, based on self-reported extant medical diagnoses of arthritis, kidney disease and liver.

Findings revealed that total health scores increased in tandem with levels of optimism, with the most optimistic participants having scores that ranged from 50 to 76 percent.

The association between optimism and cardiovascular health was even stronger when socio-demographic characteristics including age, ethnicity and race were included, as well as education status. Optimists also had better blood sugar and total cholesterol levels than counterparts. Overall, they were more physically active and less likely to smoke or be overweight than counterparts.

"At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates," Hernandez added. "This evidence, which is hypothesized to occur through a biobehavioral mechanism, suggests that prevention strategies that target modification of psychological well-being - e.g., optimism - may be a potential avenue for AHA to reach its goal of improving Americans' cardiovascular health by 20 percent before 2020."

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