The Optimism of Cardiac Patients
There are studies that show a strong link between optimism and a healthy heart. In a study in which 309 patients aged between 40 and 50 were scheduled to undergo coronary bypass surgery, the patients underwent a psychological assessment to assess their optimism, depression neuroticism and self-esteem.
Researchers tracked patients six months after surgery and analyzed the data. The researchers found that optimists had half the chance of requiring a re-hospitalization as pessimistic patients. Researchers found that in a study involving 298 patients who had undergone angioplasty, those with pessimism are three times as likely to suffer a heart attack or need re-hospitalization than optimists.
Optimism & Blood Pressure
A study in Finland also evaluated 616 men of middle age with normal blood pressure. Researchers also asked participants about their mental outlook by asking questions regarding future expectations. Researchers also evaluated the lifestyle of each participant for cardiovascular risk factors, including smoking, obesity and inactivity. Over the course of four years, scientists found that men who are highly pessimistic were three times as likely to develop high blood pressure than those who are optimists.
Optimism versus Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure is one of the major causes of heart disease. But if optimism reduces the risk of high pressure, will it prevent coronary artery diseases?
Experts and scientists at Harvard and Boston University studied 1,306 men with an average age 61 years old. Each participant was assessed for their pessimistic and optimistic lifestyles, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, as well as a family history or heart disease. At the beginning of the study, no men had been diagnosed with heart disease. Over the next decade it was found that pessimistic participants were twice as susceptible to heart disease as most optimistic ones, even when other risk factors are taken into account.
Conclusion
Through various studies, we know that an optimistic attitude is strongly associated with good health overall and reduces the risk of certain medical conditions.
