Heart health largely depends on the conditions of our lives, according to the online edition for girls and women from 14 to 35 years old Pannochka. net New study suggests living near friendly and positive neighbors may reduce heart attack risk.

The study, led by a team from the University of Michigan, was published online in the Journal of Epidemiology \u0026 Community Health..

Its authors studied the possible positive impact of a good environment on cardiovascular health..

According to the authors, most of the previous research has focused on the negative effects of hostile neighborhoods, including noise, vandalism, drug addiction, and crime in the neighborhood.. These studies have confirmed that living in such an environment increases the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes..

Evidence is accumulating at the same time that positive environmental characteristics, such as friendly neighbors, are associated with better physical and mental health, with healthier behaviors, scientists say..

The authors define the social cohesion of neighbors as " Social cohesion is characterized by a sense of security, trust and mutual understanding..

This study was the first large-scale study to investigate the relationship between social cohesion and myocardial infarction.. The authors found that the more neighbors trust and help each other, the lower their risk of heart attack..

Neighborhood Mutual Help.

More than 5,000 American adults participated in the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study, which lasted 4 years, starting in 2006. Participants in the study, whose average age was 70 years, had no heart disease at the time of follow-up.. Almost 2/3 (62%) of the participants were women, most were married.

At the start of the study, participants were asked to rate their neighbors using the following questions:.

• How much do you feel as part of your surroundings?

•Do you feel that your neighbors can come to your rescue

•Do you trust people living in the neighborhood?

•Can you call your neighbors friends?

During monitoring, 148 out of 5276 study participants had a myocardial infarction. Scientists have calculated that an increase in social cohesion per item correlates with a 17% reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction.. These data remained valid after the inclusion of factors such as age, race, gender, degree of social integration and existing health problems in the analysis..

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The authors believe that the relationship between social cohesion of neighbors and cardiovascular health may be explained by the same mechanisms that underlie the impact of individual social support on people's health.. Neighborhood is a type of social support that is available outside the circle of family and friends.. Having such support outside of one's home reduces stress levels and makes people feel safe and comfortable..

Researchers say their work has some limitations. This was an observational study that could not analyze the impact of risk factors such as family history of cardiovascular disease and genetic vulnerability.. Scientists also could not take into account the characteristics of each of the many ethnic groups, and the observation period was quite short..

Cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States, so it's critical to look for any loopholes that can help reduce the incidence and keep Americans healthy, according to Michigan scientists.. To validate their results and build on their prevention strategies, the scientists call for further research..

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