Having Love in Your Life Can Benefit Your Heart
How love affects your heart
Does your heart beat faster when you are around the person you love? That feeling of excitement and happiness may do more than just make you feel good, it may actually be good for your heart health.
“One theory on why love is good for your health is that blood pressure responds to calmness and peace,” says Christopher Suhar, MD, a cardiologist and director of Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. “If you’re in love, you’re calmer and more at peace, which could translate into lower blood pressure.”
It may seem like love is being tested during the pandemic with COVID safety protocols making it harder to date or meet new people. But news reports show people have continued to find safe and creative ways to make connections and find romance.
What are the health benefits of love?
Love makes us feel good. Love has healing powers. Love is good for your heart.
Love may help you recover if you do develop heart problems. Research has shown that married people are more likely to survive and have a better recovery than people who are not married.
“Men tend to gain more of a cardiovascular benefit from marriage than women do, but on a whole, marriage helps you live longer,” notes Dr. Suhar. “It could be from having love in your life, or simply having someone there who has a vested interest in you and is taking care of you. Either way, married people recover better from a heart-related procedure than those who are single.”
All types of love can benefit your heart
It’s not just romantic love that can improve your heart health. Having close, loving relationships with your friends and family can have cardiovascular benefits. Researchers have investigated the role of having the support of loved ones after cardiac bypass surgery. Over time, patients who had good social support had a better recovery and survival rate.
“Many surgeons counsel their patients about the importance of support after surgery,” adds Dr. Suhar. “This support includes not only spouses, but close friends and family.”
Surrounding yourself with people who love you — no matter the relationship — can also make you more inclined to follow medical advice and take an active part in your care, which can improve recovery.
There are even heart-healthy benefits to spending time with your four-legged friends.
“Pet ownership also helps people survive longer after a heart procedure,” notes Dr. Suhar. “This relationship has been looked at in both dogs and cats. Those two animals provide a definite benefit from a survival perspective. I believe it is because of the unconditional love that pets give you.”
A broken heart is bad for your health
While having love in your life can benefit your health, a broken heart can sometimes have physical side effects.
“Broken heart syndrome is a very real medical disorder,” says Dr. Suhar. “This is typically a temporary condition where the heart will have sudden enlargement and be very ineffective at pumping. It is usually reversible and can normalize after the stress is resolved, but that can take a few weeks to a few months.”
Broken heart syndrome, also called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is more common in women, although either gender can have symptoms. In rare cases, this condition can be dangerous and even fatal.
Stress in general can raise your risk of heart problems and should not be ignored.
A February 2022 Cleveland Clinic survey found that one third of Americans did not know that stress — in addition to high blood pressure, obesity and smoking — can increase the risk of developing heart disease.
There are many healthy ways to reduce stress in our lives. Being in a loving relationship is one way and it comes with many health benefits. Love comes in many forms.
“I think having love in your life is paramount to living a healthy lifestyle,” adds Dr. Suhar. “That love can come from many different sources: marriage, a partner, siblings, parents, friends or a pet. The goal is gaining peace through love, which decreases stress and anxiety in your life and benefits your heart.”