People who suffer a stroke may be more likely to survive if they are married, a new study suggests.

US researchers set out to determine whether marital history can have an impact on stroke survival. They looked at over 2,300 people aged 41 and older who had suffered a stroke between 1992 and 2010. The participants were observed for an average of just over five years.

The study found that the risk of dying after a stroke was 71% higher among adults who had never married compared to adults who were continuously married.

It also found that the risk of death after a stroke was 25% higher among widowed people, and this rose to 40% if they were widowed more than once, compared to people who were continuously married.

Meanwhile, the risk of death after a stroke was 23% higher among divorced people, and this rose to 39% if they were divorced more than once, compared to continuously married people.

The results did not appear to differ depending on gender, race and ethnicity.

The researchers said that some of the findings may be down to psychological and social factors, for example, unmarried, widowed or divorced people may have less social support and more depressive symptoms.

The researchers noted that while studies have shown that marriage can have an impact on the treatment of heart disease, the impact on stroke has been, until now, unclear.

"Our research is the first to show that current and past-marital experiences can have significant consequences for one's prognosis after a stroke. We hope that a greater recognition and understanding of these associations may enable healthcare providers to better identify and treat patients who may be at a potentially high risk of dying after suffering a stroke," they commented.

Details of these findings are published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.