Being an Optimist may Protect against Heart Problems

Being cheerful may protect against heart problems, say US experts.

Happy, optimistic people have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, a Harvard School of Public Health review of more than 200 studies – reported in Psychological Bulletin – suggests.

While such people may be generally healthier, scientists think a sense of well-being may lower risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Being an Optimist may Protect against Heart Problems

Stress and depression have already been linked to heart disease.

The researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health trawled medical trial databases to find studies that had recorded psychological well-being and cardiovascular health.

This revealed that factors such as optimism, life satisfaction, and happiness appeared to be linked associated with a reduced risk of heart and circulatory diseases, regardless of a person’s age, socio-economic status, smoking status or body weight.

Disease risk was 50% lower among the most optimistic individuals.

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Not Proof

Dr Julia Boehm and colleagues stress that their work only suggests a link and is not proof that well-being buffers against heart disease.

And not only is it difficult to objectively measure well-being, other heart risk factors like cholesterol and diabetes are more important when it comes to reducing disease.

The people in the study who were more optimistic also engaged in healthier behaviours such as getting more exercising and eating a balanced diet, which will have some influence.

But even when they controlled for these factors and others, like sleep quality, the link between optimism and better heart health remained.

Although they looked at 200 studies, the researchers say this number is still not enough to draw firm conclusions and recommend more research.

Much of the past work on mood and heart disease has looked at stress and anxiety rather than happiness.

Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “The association between heart disease and mental health is very complex and still not fully understood.

“Although this study didn’t look at the effects of stress, it does confirm what we already know which is psychological well-being is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, just like staying active and eating healthily. It also highlights the need for healthcare professionals to provide a holistic approach to care, taking into account the state of someone’s mental health and monitoring its effect on their physical health.”

Source: BBC News UK

Men can inherit a Form of Heart Disease from Father via Y chromosome

Men can inherit heart disease from their father say scientists who have tracked the condition to the Y chromosome that dads pass to sons.

By studying the DNA of over 3,000 men they found a particular version of the sex chromosome increases the risk of coronary artery disease by 50%. As many as one in five British men carry this version of Y.

And the risk it confers is in addition to other heart risk factors like cholesterol, The Lancet reports.

Men can inherit a Form of Heart Disease from Father via Y chromosome

Experts already know that men develop heart disease a decade earlier than women, on average. By the age of 40, the lifetime risk of heart disease is one in two for men and one in three for women.

Lifestyle factors like smoking and blood pressure are important contributors. This latest work suggests the male Y chromosome can also play a role in coronary artery disease – a common form of heart disease that kills thousands each year in the UK.

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Passed down

Dr Maciej Tomaszewski, from the University of Leicester, and colleagues studied 3,233 biologically unrelated British men who were already enrolled in other medical studies investigating heart disease risk.

When they carried out genetic tests on the men they found that 90% possessed one of two common versions of Y chromosome – named haplogroup I and haplogroup R1b1b2.

And the risk of coronary artery disease among the men carrying the haplogroup I version was 50% higher than in other men.

The scientists say they now need to pinpoint precisely which genes on the Y chromosome are responsible. But they believe they already know how they exert their effect – by upsetting a man’s immune system.

Dr Maciej Tomaszewski, a clinical senior lecturer at the University’s Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, said: “We are very excited about these findings as they put the Y chromosome on the map of genetic susceptibility to coronary artery disease.

“Doctors usually associated the Y chromosome with maleness and fertility but this shows it is also implicated in heart disease.” He said, ultimately, the discovery could lead to new ways to treat and prevent heart disease in men, as well as a genetic test to spot those greatest risk.

In the meantime, he said men should focus on risk factors that they already have the power to modify themselves, such as getting enough exercise and eating a healthy diet to keep their blood pressure and cholesterol down.

Dr Hélène Wilson of the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the work, said: “Coronary heart disease is the cause of heart attacks, which claim the lives of around 50,000 UK men every year. Lifestyle choices such as poor diet and smoking are major causes, but inherited factors carried in DNA are also part of the picture. The next step is to identify specifically which genes are responsible and how they might increase heart attack risk.”

Source: BBC News UK

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