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【United Evening News / Compiled by Zhu Xiaoming】 2010.02.19 12:34 am
Everyone knows that preventing heart disease requires more exercise, a healthy diet, and not smoking. Now, scientists have a new suggestion: happiness is the key to a strong heart. People who are happy, optimistic, and passionate about life are less likely to develop heart disease.
Karina Davidson, a researcher at Columbia University Medical Center, published a study in the *European Heart Journal*, marking the first time a connection has been shown between positive emotions and coronary heart disease.
Davidson’s research team analyzed the health data of 1,739 participants from the 1995 Canadian Health Survey. Professional nurses assessed their risk of heart disease and rated their levels of negative emotions (such as depression, hostility, and anxiety) and positive emotions (such as joy, happiness, excitement, enthusiasm, and contentment) on a five-level scale.
After a ten-year follow-up, the study found that for every level increase in positive emotions, the risk of heart disease decreased by 22%.
Davidson noted that while more clinical trials are needed to establish recommendations for improving heart health, happier people clearly have healthier hearts. She suggested that even those who aren’t naturally happy can learn to be a little more "cheerful," as it benefits heart health.
Smoking, obesity, family history, and high blood pressure increase the risk of heart disease. Recent studies have also linked heart disease risk to intelligence levels, with a British study listing low IQ and low income as additional risk factors.
In industrialized countries like those in Europe and the U.S., heart disease is a leading killer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 32% of global deaths in 2005 were due to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Davidson’s team believes one reason happier people have a lower risk of heart disease may be that they spend more time resting and relaxing and recover more quickly from stressful situations.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ HEALTH/ HEA1/ 5427891. shtml
Heart Disease: the Unhappy Ones
Everyone knows that preventing heart disease requires more exercise, a healthy diet, and not smoking. Now, scientists have a new suggestion: happiness is the key to a strong heart. People who are happy, optimistic, and passionate about life are less likely to develop heart disease.
Karina Davidson, a researcher at Columbia University Medical Center, published a study in the *European Heart Journal*, marking the first time a connection has been shown between positive emotions and coronary heart disease.
Davidson’s research team analyzed the health data of 1,739 participants from the 1995 Canadian Health Survey. Professional nurses assessed their risk of heart disease and rated their levels of negative emotions (such as depression, hostility, and anxiety) and positive emotions (such as joy, happiness, excitement, enthusiasm, and contentment) on a five-level scale.
After a ten-year follow-up, the study found that for every level increase in positive emotions, the risk of heart disease decreased by 22%.
Davidson noted that while more clinical trials are needed to establish recommendations for improving heart health, happier people clearly have healthier hearts. She suggested that even those who aren’t naturally happy can learn to be a little more "cheerful," as it benefits heart health.
Smoking, obesity, family history, and high blood pressure increase the risk of heart disease. Recent studies have also linked heart disease risk to intelligence levels, with a British study listing low IQ and low income as additional risk factors.
In industrialized countries like those in Europe and the U.S., heart disease is a leading killer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 32% of global deaths in 2005 were due to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Davidson’s team believes one reason happier people have a lower risk of heart disease may be that they spend more time resting and relaxing and recover more quickly from stressful situations.
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ HEALTH/ HEA1/ 5427891. shtml