People with a high quality of life and satisfied with what they have achieved have less risk of heart disease , say specialists in a study with more than 8,000 people published in the European Heart Journal .
Research, conducted among adults with an average age of 49, shows that well-being is a protective factor of the heart. As part of the experiment, the participants answered questionnaires on seven basic aspects of daily life: relationships, entertainment, standard of living, employment, family, sex, and self-esteem. After six years of follow-up, the scientists evaluated these health parameters to analyze who had suffered coronary artery disease, heart attack or angina.
Those with the highest levels of life satisfaction had a 13 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease , says Julia Boehm, one of the co-authors, from the Harvard School of Public Health. These results suggest that among high-risk individuals it is relevant to establish strategies to promote the positive psychological state and not only alleviate the negative state, said the specialist.
