Doctors find singles are twice as likely to die from heart failure 19:04

Men who have never been married are more likely to die after being diagnosed with heart failure. Reported by the American College of Cardiology.

Chronic heart failure occurs when the heart muscle becomes too weak or stiff to pump blood through the body efficiently. This problem is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular disease and death and currently affects more than 6 million people in the United States.

The study was based on data from 6,800 American adults ages 45 to 84. Using ten years of data collected, the researchers compared the survival rates of 94 participants with heart failure after they were diagnosed. The mean follow-up was 4.7 years, including a breakdown by gender and marital status. To distinguish the role of marital status from other known risk factors, the researchers adjusted age to account for increased mortality among older adults and mental status to exclude depression.

It was found that never-married men were twice as likely to die within about five years of being diagnosed as women of any marital status. Singles for life were about 2.2 times more likely to die than married men, but widowed, divorced or separated men did not have a higher risk of death compared to married men. Marital status of women had no effect on mortality rates.

Scientists have no explanation for these results. The isolation felt by single men and the resulting stress are likely to contribute to their death rate.