Question of the Day

Question: I already exercise and watch my diet -- is there anything else I can do to stay heart-healthy?

Answer: Maintaining loving and supportive relationships may also benefit your heart health, according to Do You Look and Feel Your Best?

Coronary artery disease, or heart disease, is the leading killer of Americans--both women and men. However, researchers have found that women who report that they feel loved and emotionally supported tend to have less severe coronary artery blockages than those who do not. Intriguingly, this finding held true even if the other subjects reported having more relationships. Most important, this connection between feeling loved and being heart healthier was independent of diet, smoking, exercise, cholesterol, family health history, and other standard risk factors.

Studies in men had similar findings: coronary artery blockage is eased in those who feel loved. Men may also be interested to know that several studies involving thousands of men, such as the 1965 Alameda County, Calif., study, found that men and women lacking love, support and community ties were 1.9 to 3.1 times more likely to die prematurely.