Study: The unit is not related to worsening heart disease

(Reuters) – Patients with heart conditions and stable conditions are not at risk of having their health problems deteriorate if they live alone, according to an expanded study.

To reach this conclusion, researchers followed 32,000 patients from 45 countries for five years. All patients had coronary artery disease, but their condition was stable, with no other problem for at least several months, and about 11% of them lived alone.

After calculating the factors that may increase the risk of heart problems – such as age, sex, smoking and diabetes – the analysis did not conclude that the risk of seizure Cardiac, stroke, heart failure or death from heart disease was higher among people living alone than others.

But the study, published in the journal Heart, revealed a difference between men and women, with a 17% increase in the risk of heart attack in men living alone.

"Men who live alone and have been married or living with women may not have an effective way of coping with their situation or a sufficient social support network," said the senior researcher. Sumit Gandhi, who works at St Michaels Hospital and at the University of Toronto.

"Women tend to run the house and care for others, giving them better abilities to take care of themselves than men," writes Gandhi and his colleagues. "Women socialize differently than men and therefore have a stronger network of relationships … which means they depend on the support of life partners – less than men."

Previous research has suggested that patients living alone may have an increased risk of heart attack, noting that new discoveries could be the result of improved medical care and follow-up.