| Marital Rows are harmful to Heart |
Print this story |
A recent study says men can experience hardening of heart arteries due to marital fights with their partners in which either of them try to dominate each other. Woman on the other hand can have similar symptoms if their husbands show hostility during fights.
Psychologists and Researchers at the University of Utah set up arguments between 150 volunteer married couples, mostly in their 60s, and then did a CT scan of their coronary arteries to look for signs of calcification, hardening and narrowing of arteries that can put people at risk for a heart attack.
Researchers coded comments made during the six-minute-long videotaped discussions on topics such as money, in-laws, children, vacations and household duties, and gave each statement a rating for the level of hostility and dominance displayed by partners.
"Women pay more attention to that friendliness vs. hostility quality, and are more concerned when it’s out of line than are men. Men are more interested in issues of control in their lives," explained study author Tim Smith, professor of psychology at University of Utah, who is to present the findings Friday at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Denver, a conference that deals with the influence of psychological factors on physical health.
Even while being taped, the couples engaged in some "quite pointed" arguments, said Smith. "Behaving in this way in this six-minute sample is also associated with couples telling us that this happens a lot for them," he said. Some couples were so hostile researchers suggested they go to counseling.
Two days after their discussion, each couple underwent a CT scan of the chest at the University of Utah’s Center for Advanced Medical Technologies. Doctors used a standard scale to score each person’s level of coronary artery calcification.
"We went looking for the fact that different aspects of the marriage might be important to men’s and women’s heart health, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was so clear," Smith said.
The researchers factored out traditional risks such as weight and cholesterol levels, and personality indicators that are known to trigger disease. The results said "something about the quality of their relationships," Smith said.
|
| Chocolate Good for Heart in Elderly Men - Feb 28, 2006 18:47 IST |
|
It is a great news for chocolate lovers. A recent study done by Dutch researchers suggest that eating or drinking cocoa lowes blood pressure and cuts down on the death risks to elderly men.
|
| Anthrax infected Drummer’s health condition serious. - Feb 27, 2006 4:29 IST |
|
|
Officials at the Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa., have released a statement saying that the health of Vado Diomande, the drummer and drum maker from Brooklyn has gone from stable to serious. They further stated that he had "increased difficulty" breathing during the day, which has resulted in making his condition dire. The doctors at the hospital have been working in collaboration with experts from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
|
| French Poultry Industry severely hit by Bird Flu - Feb 26, 2006 15:16 IST |
|
|
Paris -- The European Union’s first outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus has put the poultry industry on the back foot, with Japan and Hong Kong announcing bans on import of poultry products from France.
|
| Bird Flu Update -- India Clears 11, France awaits tests - Feb 24, 2006 19:7 IST |
|
|
Indian Government today declared 11 out of 12 people, quarantined following a bird flu outbreak have tested negative for the Avian H5F1 virus. France has confirmed bird flu virus at a farm where 80% of the turkeys have dies in last couple of days.
|
| Bird Flu Arrives in Europe - Feb 13, 2006 5:41 IST |
|
|
After having caused more than 88 deaths in Asia and Middle East, the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has made its way into Europe.
|
| ADHD Drugs to carry Stronger Warnings - Feb 11, 2006 4:41 IST |
|
|
A FDA advisory committee has voted to recommend stronger warning labels for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. The committee’s focus included Shire Plc’s Adderall, a form of amphetamine, Novartis AG’s Ritalin, generically sold as methylphenidate, and Johnson & Johnson’s Concerta, a long-acting version of methylphenidate, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.
|
| The Deadly Kisses - Feb 10, 2006 10:8 IST |
|
|
By deadly kisses we do not mean the ones which are too good, but ones which can be deadly, literally. A recent study says teenagers who intimately kiss multiple partners have have an increased risk of developing meningitis by as high as four times.
|
| More Calcium, Exercise recommended for Kids - Feb 7, 2006 8:0 IST |
|
|
Children should be evaluated for the amount of calcium they get and should be encouraged to exercise to help prevent an epidemic of broken bones later in life, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises.
|
| New Rotavirus Vaccine Approved - Feb 5, 2006 5:0 IST |
|
|
Washington -- FDA said Friday that it has approved RotaTeq vaccine, from Merck & Co. which prevents infection by a virus that kills 500,000 children worldwide every year.
|
|
|
|
|
