UNITED KINGDOM, August 12, 2009: Women who are optimistic have a lower risk of heart disease and death, an American study shows. The latest study by U.S. investigators mirrors the findings of earlier work by a Dutch team showing optimism reduces heart risk in men.
The research on nearly 100,000 women, published in the journal Circulation, found pessimists had higher blood pressure and cholesterol.
Optimistic women had a 9% lower risk of developing heart disease and a 14% lower risk of dying from any cause after more than eight years of follow-up.
A spokeswoman for the British Heart Foundation said: “We know that hostile emotions can release certain chemicals in the body which may increase the risk of heart disease, but we don’t fully understand how and why. “Optimistic or hostile attitudes can be linked to health behaviors such as smoking or poor diet, which may also influence heart health.
A good thing for all women is that regardless of your outlook, making healthy choices such as not smoking and eating well, will have much more of an impact on your heart health than your outlook.