Married heart attack patients are likely to have a lower mortality risk and a shorter stay in hospital than others, a conference will hear today.
Dr Nicholas Gollop and colleagues at the University of East Anglia, UK, carried out their study on 25,287 male and female heart attack patients between January 2000 and March 2013. Results indicate that married patients are 14% less likely to die after a heart attack than single patients.
The reasons for this reduction in risk were not investigated by the study, but the researchers suggest that their findings "emphasise the importance of physical and emotional support" after a heart attack.
The findings add to earlier work showing that being married is linked to improved heart attack outcomes. Length of stay had not previously been measured in relation to marital status.
Findings will be reported today (8 June) at the British Cardiovascular Society Conference 2016 in Manchester, UK.
"Our results should not be a cause for concern for single people who have had a heart attack," says Dr Gollop, "but they should certainly be a reminder to the medical community of the importance of considering the support a heart attack survivor will get once they’re discharged."
Researcher Dr Rahul Potluri added: "Our approach has already helped us perform research investigating the relationship between mental and physical health, and health services research particularly looking at the weekend effect. Utilising and analysing large data sets is essential to improve our understanding of medical conditions and to improve management options for patients.
"By looking at how larger numbers of heart attack patients do over a longer period of time in future research, we may be able to see additional psychosocial benefits of marriage, which can be targeted to further guide patient care."
Abstract Title: The Impact Of Marital Status On Mortality And Length Of Stay In Patients Admitted With Myocardial Infarction, presented 8 June 2016 at the British Cardiovascular Society Conference 2016 in Manchester, UK [abstract]
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