Marriage Keeps Love Alive and Hearts Pumping

Written By: Sarah Torre  |  Posted: Sunday, October 16th, 2011

            Many a bachelor has taunted and teased a groom-to-be that "I do" will be his famous last words. But for all the jesting predictions about the finality or fatality of marriage, walking down the aisle could be the healthiest thing you do to keep your relationship alive and your heart ticking.

            A new study published in the Journal of Health Psychology suggests that when it comes to major heart surgery, marriage can be a good predictor of long-term survival. The study found that married men and women were 250 percent more likely to be alive 15 years after coronary artery bypass surgery than their unmarried counterparts. Marriage had an even greater impact on men's post-op longevity. Fifteen years after bypass surgery, over 80 percent of happily married men's hearts were still beating for the one they loved, while only 36 percent of single men were still living. Even among male patients who rated their marriages poorly, almost two-thirds survived past the 15-year mark.

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