Optimistic outlook keeps your heart healthier

BEIJING. March 1. KAZINFORM A recent research suggests that heart patients with an optimistic outlook are more likely to be healthier down the road and survive longer than those with pessimistic views, according to USA Today on Tuesday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

The study in Archives of Internal Medicine that followed 2,800 heart patients for 15 years shows that those with more positive attitudes about their recovery had about a 30 percent greater chance of survival after 15 years than patients with pessimistic leanings.

Among all the studies that have looked at how long it was before patients returned to normal states, it is the longest, largest study to track survival, says John Barefoot, professor emeritus at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

Barefoot says the research shows better physical recovery and a higher likelihood of survival is linked to attitude -- personal beliefs about their illness; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

See www.xinhuanet.com/english2010 for full version