How Social Support Can Eases Heart Disease Recovery

In this study, 3,432 male and female heart attack patients, ages 18 to 55, were surveyed at one month after their heart attacks and again at 12 months after. They answered questions about how much social support they had. The researchers defined social support as the perception of having family or friends who do one or more of the following:

• Provide companionship and act as confidants
• Offer advice and information
• Display emotional concern
• Give financial or material support

The surveys revealed that 728 (21 percent) of the patients had low social support. Compared with patients who had moderate or high social support, these 728 men and women were more likely to smoke and abuse alcohol. They also tended to be single, unemployed and living alone.

One month after having a heart attack, patients with low social support were more likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes and depression—known risk factors for heart disease.
Credits: Improve recovery for younger heart attack patients with social support

 

Social Support Through Cardiac Rehab

Traditionally, support after a heart disease diagnosis or stroke comes from peers at cardiac rehab, and also during follow-up visits with a primary care physician, who can screen for depression symptoms. In cardiac rehab, patients learn to increase their physical endurance and trust their bodies again, and they may also benefit from the social support of the group.

“A key factor is the fact that you’re in the gym with people who’ve gone through the same thing — pushing each other on. That helps a lot,” Jacobs says.

Credits: How Social Support Eases Heart Disease and Stroke Recovery:  

Support from family and friends is crucial after a heart attack, according to a study linking a lack of social support to poorer health outcomes in young adults.

Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, this study compared health outcomes in young patients following a heart attack. Although past studies have shown that a lack of social support can negatively impact outcomes for heart attack patients, most of these studies included primarily elderly men. That’s why researchers designed the VIRGO study (Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients) to determine if the impact of social support on heart attack outcomes varies by age or gender.

Researchers followed patients for a year to see how social support may impact important outcomes for heart attack patients.

After analysis, researchers found that patients with little support had worse outcomes than those with higher levels of support. Not only were patients with low levels of support more likely to show signs of depression, they reported lower quality of life compared to those with more social support. Interestingly, the impact of social support was just as strong among men and women, suggesting that family and friends play a key role for young heart attack patients, regardless of gender.

Study findings highlight the importance of addressing mental health in heart patients to improve both outcomes and quality of life. After a life-threatening heart event, patients and doctors will work together to address key cardiovascular risk factors, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Unfortunately, it’s easy to overlook other factors that also play an important role in outcomes, such as mental health and social support. And based on findings of the VIRGO study, addressing factors like a lack of social support could go a long way in improving outcomes for heart attack survivors.

Credits: Social Support Boosts Recovery after Heart Attack – CardioSmart

Social support during the holidays is key in warding off the holiday blues  Although, at times you may not feel up to getting out there or having people over, but remember a little socializing is just what the doctored ordered!