Positive attitude towards life can beat any disease. According to the scientists, heart patients with optimistic attitudes are more likely to exercise and live longer than the negative ones.

The researchers found that patients with heart disease who had a positive vision towards life were 42 percent less likely to die over a five-year period than those with a negative attitude. Positive mood and exercise also cut the risk of heart-related hospitalisations, the study found.

Study

The researchers asked around 600 ischemic heart disease patients in a Denmark hospital to fill questionnaire to assess their moods.

Ischemic heart disease, also called coronary artery disease, is caused by narrowed arteries that don’t provide enough blood and oxygen to the heart.

Findings

After a five-year follow-up period, it was found that the most positive patients indulged in more exercise and had a 42 percent less chance of dying for any reason. The researchers recorded deaths less than 10 percent. On the other hand, among the patients with less positive attitudes, 50 deaths occurred (16.5 percent).

“We should focus not only on increasing positive attitude in cardiac rehabilitation, but also make sure that patients perform exercise on a regular basis, as exercise is associated with both increased levels of optimism and better health,” said Susanne S Pedersen, one of the study authors and professor of cardiac psychology, the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, the Netherlands.

The study was published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.