Marital Stress Especially Hard on a Woman's Health

Marital stress and dissatisfaction go hand in hand with heart problems for women—independent of other risk factors such as high blood pressure and smoking.

In one study, University of Pittsburgh researchers studied 500 middle-aged women and found that women in high stress marriages, when compared with this in low stress and more satisfying marriages, were at greater risk for heart attacks and strokes because they were more likely to have blockages in the main artery of their hearts and in their. carotid artery.

Stress hormones lead to the kind of mindbody imbalance that can set the stage for arterial plaque build-up. They cause elevated heart rate, increased constriction of blood vessels, increased cholesterol and decreased heart rate variability, a heart risk factor. Keep in mind that women stressed and unhappy have a greater tendency to put their heart health at risk: e.g. eat poorly, smoke, drink, drug, not exercise, go without sleep and so on.

It's the long term stress and dissatisfaction that causes the most harm to a woman's health. All relationships go through periods of heightened stress and dissatisfaction, and sometimes stress and strain represent challenges we need to address in our relationships. Such challenges are normal and they can lead to growth and happiness. It's when we get locked into a stressful relationship that seems to have no easy exit that we can die a little bit every day.

Annual Meeting Of The American Psychosomatic Society in Monterey, California March 13, 2001

Troxel, W.M. Archives of Internal Medicine, May 9, 2005; vol 165: pp 1022-1027. WebMD Medical News: "Only Happy Marriage is Healthy for Women