Released August 5, 2008

STILLWATER, Okla. – Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is good for the heart.

According to research, love may have a lot more to do with the heart than originally thought.

“For centuries love has been associated with the heart,” said Ron Cox, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service family science specialist. “However, research is now showing that it is not only a metaphorical relation but that a loving relationship can be good for your heart.”

A study at Yale University found that men and women who reported feeling most loved and supported also had significantly less blockage in the arteries, even when accounting for the typical risk factors such as diet, smoking, family history and poor exercise.

Cox said additional research found that married men who felt loved by their wives had markedly less angina or chest pain at a five year follow-up examination than husbands who reported they did not feel loved by their wives.

In a Harvard study, doctors randomly selected a group of healthy male college students and 35 years later the medical records for those same students, now in their 50s, were checked.

“The study showed only 45 percent of the students who reported a warm, loving relationship with their mothers had a record of serious illnesses such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, ulcers and alcoholism,” Cox said. “Yet, more than 90 percent of the students who originally reported a cold relationship with their mothers had a record of the same serious illnesses.”

The same scenario held for their relationships with their fathers, with roughly 50 percent to 82 percent showing serious illness respectively.

“These studies and many more link serious illness to poor relationships, and show that classes designed to improve relationship skills are more than superficial activities for those who don’t have anything better to do,” Cox said. “Learning how to develop strong, supportive relationships with your spouse, children and parents are primary to healthy living and longevity. In fact, research is showing that building up these relationships should be considered just as important as diet and exercise for a healthy heart.”

The OSU Cooperative Extension service can offer help in finding research-based information to improve skills in the area of parenting, marriage and general relationships.

“Diet and exercise can play an important role in curbing heart disease, however, a generous dose of love and intimacy, administered over time, may prove to be the best medicine you can find for your heart – in more ways than one,” Cox said.

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http://www2.dasnr.okstate.edu/Members/katie.reim-40okstate.edu/love-helps-conquer-heart-problems

Contact: Katie L. Reim, 405-744-6792, katie.reim@okstate.edu