Being married lowers the risk of heart attacks in both men and women, a new study has found.

Finnish scientists analysed data contained in a heart attack register between the years 1993 and 2002. Both fatal and non-fatal heart-related events, known as acute cardiac syndromes (ACS), were included. Everyone on the register was over the age of 35.

"Our aim was to study the differences in the morbidity and prognosis of incident ACS according to socio-demographic characteristics (marital status and household size)," the scientists explained.

During the study period, over 15,000 ACS events were recorded, just over half of which resulted in death within one month.

The study found that these heart-related events occurred nearly equally among men and women. However, when it came to unmarried men, the incidence of events rose by 58-66%, while for women, this figure was 60-65%.

When it came to those who died within 28 days of their heart attack, the results were even more startling. Among unmarried men, the death rate was 60-168% higher, while among unmarried women, it was 71-175% higher.

For example, the number of married men aged 65-74 who died within one month of a heart attack was 866 per 100,000 people per year. However among unmarried men, this figure rose to 1,792 per 100,000 per year.

Among women of the same age, the mortality rate of married women was 247 per 100,000 per year, while among unmarried women, this rose to 493 per 100,000.

Overall, 26% of men in the 35-64 age group died within a month if they were married. This rose to 42% among previously married men and 51% in men who were never married.

Among married women, 20% died within one month. This rose to 32% in previously married women and 43% in women who were never married.

While previous studies have shown that living alone or being unmarried can increase the risk of heart-related events, according to the scientists, much of this research has only focused on men.

They said that there could be a number of reasons for these findings, including:
-Married people may be financially better off, lead a healthier lifestyle and have better social support, all of which can benefit overall health
-The original call for help following a heart attack may be initiated faster by a spouse compared to a scenario where a person is living alone
-After discharge from hospital, unmarried people may not adhere to their medication regime as strictly as they should, which can affect their long-term prognosis.

However, the scientists added that none of these fully explain the findings and further research is required to explain this ‘considerable population health problem'.

Details of these findings are published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.