Cheerful attitude prevents heart problems

• April 19, 2024

Being cheerful and optimistic can greatly reduce the risk of suffering from heart problems, according to a recent study.

"If you are cheerful by nature and see the good side of things, you are more likely to be protected from cardiac events," he said in a press release from the Johns Hopkins University the leader of the study, Lisa Yanek, assistant professor of general internal medicine in the School of Medicine of the University.

"A more cheerful temperament has a real effect on the disease, and as a result maybe one is healthier."

Yanek and colleagues examined data on more than 7,400 Americans, and found that being cheerful, relaxed, energetic and satisfied with life reduced the risk of heart attack, sudden cardiac death and other serious heart problems by up to 50%.

The mechanisms underlying the protective effect of being optimistic and positive are not clear, Yanek said.

The study appears in a recent issue of the journal American Journal of Cardiology . Previous research has shown that depressed and anxious people are more likely to suffer heart attacks and die from them than people with happier personalities.

Although the study found an association between optimism and a lower risk of heart problems, it did not establish causality.

Yanek noted that people with happy personalities tend to be born that way, and for people to change their temperament is not easy.

It has been suggested that people who have a cheerful disposition are also more likely to take better care of themselves and have more energy to do so.

However, Yanek said his research shows that optimistic people still had many risk factors for heart disease, but had fewer serious cardiac events.

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