Marital stress associated with atherosclerosis in men

A study conducted at the University of Utah found that when married couples with troubled relationships have hardening of the coronary arteries. Researchers identified certain differences in the ways that men and women talk and relate to one another and also gender-linked differences related to heart risks. For instance, wives who were hostile in disagreements with their spouses were more likely to have atherosclerosis, while among husbands, atherosclerosis was more common when either they or their wives acted in a controlling manner.

Another study suggested that a married couple’s typical argument can delay wound healing by at least a day. Highly hostile married couples healed at rates that were 60 percent lower than those with lesser hostility levels. Screening blood samples from those highly hostile married couples proved increased levels of certain “cytokines,” or proteins which stimulates the healing process assobut also has been ciated to long-term inflammation.