An Optimist Has A Healthier Heart

If you're the one with the smile and the upbeat mood on life, you'll know that your heart is on the upswing too.

New research shows that optimism, rather than pessimism, can improve cardiovascular health significantly. While heart disease can kill a large number of people, it is also easily avoided if you try to choose a happy and healthy attitude.

While optimism can boost overall health, its positive effect on the heart is greater, according to thehindustantimes.com.

"Individuals with the highest levels of optimism have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts," said lead author of the study, Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois.

"This association remains significant even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health," Hernandez added.

She studied 5,100 adults, checking out their cardiovascular health with the help of seven metrics: blood pressure, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and serum cholesterol levels, dietary intake, physical activity and tobacco use.

Surveys also checked their mental health, levels of optimism and physical health.

The blood sugar and cholesterol levels too were found to be better in optimists. Such people were also more active and did not smoke so often. These might help a lot of people to improve their cardiovascular health score and decrease a person's risk for stroke, according to medicaldaily.com.

Optimistic people typically maintain a level of hope, and also tend to see the good in everything, including even the stress and tensions of life. This would help them to focus only on the beneficial aspects of issues.

The optimistic people were more likely to have ideal cardiovascular health, as well as 55 percent more likely to have a total health score "in the intermediate range". The study was published in the journal 'Health Behavior and Policy Review'.