Marriage is healthy for the heart

Being married makes for a healthy heart, while being divorced or widowed is linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, according to a study of 3.5 million people released Friday. The study is the largest of its kind to show how heart health is linked to marital status, and was presented at the American College of Cardiology conference. "These findings certainly shouldn't drive people to get married, but it's important to know that decisions regarding who one is with, why, and why not may have important implications for vascular health," said lead author Carlos Alviar, cardiology fellow at New York University Langone Medical Center. People who were divorced had a higher likelihood of any vascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease when compared to single people, according to the study. Widowers showed slightly higher odds of any vascular disease and coronary artery disease, also when compared to people who had never been married, according to AFP.