Heart patients with good marriages survive longer

By Anne Harding

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The quality of a marriage can mean the difference between life and death for patients with heart failure, a new study shows.

Among 189 men and women with heart failure, those who had higher-quality marriages were more likely to survive over an eight-year follow-up period. Relationship quality was more important for women's survival than it was for men's, Dr. Michael J. Rohrbaugh of the University of Arizona in Tucson and colleagues report.

"Close relationships count," Rohrbaugh told Reuters Health in an interview.

In this same group of patients Rohrbaugh and his team had previously shown that those who frequently had "useful discussions" with their spouses about the illness and more positive than negative interactions with their husbands or wives were more likely to be alive after four years.

After four more years, the researchers found, those factors were still key in determining a patient's likelihood of survival - they were also more important than individual patient characteristics, such as level of depression or anxiety or coping skills.

Heart failure is a complex condition to deal with, Rohrbaugh noted. The drugs used for heart failure are continually changing -- although they are becoming more effective -- and patients with heart disease must also adhere closely to a special diet and monitor their weight carefully. "Social relationship factors may be especially crucial to managing a difficult chronic condition such as heart failure, which makes stringent and complex demands on patients and their families," the researchers note in their report.

There is increasing evidence that a spouse's beneficial effect on their partner's health goes beyond simple emotional support, and involves a collaborative effort of coping with the disease, Rohrbaugh added.

However, in some cases, he noted, the nature of the relationship may mean a spouse's efforts at being helpful can backfire.

He and his colleagues are conducting similar studies in Spain and Germany to determine if cultural factors influence the link between relationship quality and heart failure survival.

SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, October 15, 2006.