You’ve heard the adage, “Happy wife, happy life,” but how about this one:
The happier your marriage, the better your chance of surviving and recovering from heart surgery.
It’s true.
According to a new study out of the University of Rochester, the better a person’s marriage, the more likely they are to live longer after heart surgery than those who are single or unhappy in marriage.
“I can only imagine that people who have a good marriage are pretty happy people,” said a Boston cardiac surgeon, Robert Hagberg. “So they don’t have many destructive behavior patterns – they don’t drink, they don’t smoke, they don’t stay out late trying to pick up dates.”
Christians need look no further than the Bible for reasons to support and promote the institution of marriage. However, it’s always encouraging to see findings like this pointing to the practical benefits of strong, healthy marriages.
Truth be told, heart disease is a complicated illness to navigate, but perhaps no more so than the challenges that come when a man and a woman commit their lives to one another. Focus on the Family is delighted to help you and your spouse forge a terrific, lifelong union. I’d invite you to click here to sample some of our programs and books created for just this purpose.
I have to admit it never occurred to me that our resources might help you live a longer life in the event of heart surgery. But in light of this new research, we can now say with certainty that investing in the health of your marriage is, indeed, good for your heart, and in more ways than one.
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