In reading the health statistics of single
versus married males, it is no secret that the
longevity of a married male is much more
than a single male. While it does make sense
intuitively that a happy marriage likely makes
for a better blood pressure for both husband
and wife, I wanted to investigate this further.
Are there any studies correlating marriage and
blood pressure? The answer is yes.
One study is from the Annals of Behavioral
Medicine in 2008. The authors followed the
results of the ambulatory blood pressure
recordings of over 200 married and
approximately 100 single men and women.
One of the factors that was commented upon
was the "dipping status" of the study subjects.
The authors noted the following:
* Comparing the study subjects who were
married and single: those married were found
to have a greater "dipping status" overall.
* Marriage satisfaction is important: Those
who were satisfied with their marriage had an
even lower dipping status and overall lower
blood pressures. The study subjects in this
category also reported less incidence of
depression and were better handle to handle
stress as they were not that "stressed out " at
home.
* What about the single individual? Well
compared to a married individual who is not
satisfied in their marriage, the single man or
woman had a better "dipping blood pressure"
than the "miserable" married individual.
Overall, being married and being happy in that
marriage was an awesome "double whammy"
to have concerning having a great blood
pressure.
Do Married Men And Women Become Angry
For Different Reasons?
There was a study from the journal Health
Psychology in 1991 entitled "High blood
pressure and marital discord: Not being nasty
means more than being nice." The study
investigators evaluated married men and
women with a history of high blood pressure
and recorded their blood pressure
measurements during an argument. Yes, the
blood pressure increased for both men and
women during "an argument" with their
partner, but the impetus for the blood
pressure rise was different for both men and
women.
The authors found that in women, the more
unfriendly and hostile the encounter, the
higher the blood pressure. In addition, in
women the greater the marital discord, the
higher the blood pressure reading. For men,
the impetus was completely different. The
blood pressures in men tended to change
according to their rate of speech. This paper
highlighted the gender differences in
communication.
From a Blood Pressure Perspective
If I am trying to be a good doctor and looking
at all factors concerning blood pressure, then
asking about marriage life is part of this
because clearly marital happiness is related to
blood pressure health. From having observed
the habits of happily (and not so happily
married) people over the past ten years, I have
come to the following conclusions:
* Happier couples try not to go to bed angry if
at all possible. They try to resolve the
situation prior to drifting off to sleep.
Physiologically this is important and
suppressed anger can increase high blood
pressure
and affect sleep quality.
* Happier couples tell me that they know what
the other person's "triggers" are. They are
cognizant of what makes each other tick. The
may have disagreements but debate about
them in a fair way that leaves both sides
satisfied.
In summary, marriage is hard. It takes work
but a happy marriage can reap many rewards,
including a long and happy life and a great
blood pressure to boot.

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