Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that cheerful people with positive outlooks are less likely to suffer cardiac events like heart attacks.
"Don't worry, be happy" is a popular phrase that all people are aware of but not all follow. Now, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found another benefit of staying happy, positive, cheerful and relaxed.
Previous studies have shown that mentally depressed people are more likely to experience cardiac problems that can cause death. Researchers found that being cheerful and having a positive outlook toward life can also reduce the risks of suffering heart attacks.
"If you are by nature a cheerful person and look on the bright side of things, you are more likely to be protected from cardiac events," said study leader Lisa R. Yanek, M.P.H., an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in a press release. "A happier temperament has an actual effect on disease and you may be healthier as a result."
Yanek and her colleagues first looked at data from GeneSTAR (Genetic Study of Atherosclerosis Risk), a 25-year Johns Hopkins project sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to determine the roots of heart disease in people with a family history of coronary disease. They then gathered information from 1,483 healthy siblings of people who had coronary events before the age of 60 and followed them from five to 25 years. All participants were asked to fill out questionnaires about their well-being and were scored on a scale of 0 to 110 based on their cheerfulness, level of concern about health, whether they were relaxed as opposed to anxious, energy level and life satisfaction.
The study was conducted across 12 years and within this period researchers noted 208 coronary events among the participants that included heart attacks, sudden cardiac death, acute coronary syndrome, and the need for stents or bypass surgery.
At the end of the study, researchers found that cardiac events were reduced among participants with a higher level of positive well-being by one third. Also there was a 50 percent reduction observed among participants that were deemed at the highest risk for a coronary event.
The study was published in the American Journal of Cardiology.
