For Heart Health, Be Nice to Your Spouse

The message is clear: lighten up and live longer. The L.A. Times reports that a three-year study of older married couples has found a link between the quality of
relationships and atherosclerosis. The research, conducted at the University of Utah, studied 150 couples, who were asked to talk
about a subject of disagreement in their marriage, be it money,
in-laws, children or household duties. Two days after that discussion, husband and wife underwent a CT scan of the chest to determine his or her level of coronary artery blockage. The Times reports that the findings differed according to gender. For a woman, hostility in
the marital relationship — whether on her part or her husband’s — was
associated with a build-up of plaque in the coronary arteries. For a
man, the important factor was not hostility but control. Men who were
controlling toward their wife, or had a controlling spouse, were more
likely to have atherosclerosis.