Another healthy tip courtesy of Sarah A. Samaan, MD, FACC

Resolve to cherish and nurture the important relationships in your life. Although this may sound like a tip to ensure mental and spiritual well-being, it is actually very heart-healthy advice as well. Those of us with strong friendships and relationships are less likely to suffer from heart attacks and strokes. And in the first year after a heart attack, someone who lacks friends or family support is more than twice as likely to die from their disease. Later in life, men and women in committed relationships have a substantially lower likelihood of developing dementia. Not surprisingly, bad relationships, committed or not, are not heart heart healthy at all. The arteries of those folks tend to be more vulnerable to cholesterol buildup, boosting the odds of heart disease and stroke. Love and friendship can literally nourish and heal our hearts and minds. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Where there is love, there is life.”

– Sarah A. Samaan, MD, FACC, Best Practices Health Web Page