As if a failed marriage isn’t bad enough for the heart: new research suggests that divorce increases your risk of heart attack, even if you remarry.
An analysis of 15,827 people showed women were worst affected, and barely reduced the risk if they remarried.
The study, published in the journal ‘Circulation’, argued that chronic stress, linked to divorce, had a long-term impact on the body.
The British Heart Foundation called for more research before divorce is classed as a major heart risk.
We already know that the death of a close loved one can greatly increase the risk of a heart attack. Now a team at Duke University has shown a similar effect after divorce. During the course of the study, between 1992 and 2010, roughly one in three people divorced at least once.
Women who divorced once were 24pc more likely to have had a heart attack than women who were continuously married. The figure was 77pc for those having multiple divorces.
In men, there was a modest 10pc extra risk for one divorce and 30pc increase after multiple divorces.
Agencies/Canadajournal