Researchers have known for some time that older people recover better from heart attacks if they have good social support. Now, investigators report that the same is true for younger heart attack victims.
The study included 3,400 patients between 18 and 55 years of age. They were asked about their social support networks.
About one-fifth had relatively little support and they were less likely to recover well from their cardiac events. The lead investigator, Dr. Harlan Krumholz, commented, “Things like love and friendship make a big difference in the recovery of heart attacks.”
[Journal of the American Heart Association, online September 30, 2014]
This is definitely not the first time we have seen the benefits of social support. There is probably a biological basis for it, as having a friend around even helps mice survive heart attacks better. Building social support may seem difficult, but really it is what people have always done when they hang out with each other and do favors for friends.
