It has been shown that the well-being and stability of a marriage can have a notable impact on a person’s health. And scientific studies are finding that marriage plays a consequential role on the risk of stroke, which is among the most life-altering medical events a person can experience.
In fact, a 2016 study published in Journal of the American Heart Association reported that being married was associated with better survival after a stroke. These results are consistent with several other scientific findings that link a healthy marriage with stroke survival and even with a decreased risk of having a stroke. Surprisingly, the impact of marriage on stroke risk lasts for several generations. Another interesting tidbit is that marriage appears to affect men and women differently when it comes to stroke risk.
A severe stroke can cause such a transformation in a stroke survivor’s personality that it can affect the quality and contentment of marriage for the spouse, who is typically the primary caregiver. Depression is the most common personality change after a stroke. Other stroke-induced changes in personality include loss of empathy, loss of sense of humor, and even newly developed feelings of jealousy.
There are a number of possible explanations for the upsurge in stroke risk when a marriage ends in divorce, including stress, anxiety, sadness, and a decline in self-care. Additionally, changes in lifestyle after marriage may differ for men and women, and this could explain the different rates of stroke between men and women subsequent to the termination of a marriage.
Interestingly, men who had been divorced and men who had never been married both demonstrated an increased rate of stroke compared to married and widowed men of the same age, which suggests that it is both the ending of a marriage in divorce as well as the lack of marriage that most prominently contributes to stroke risk.
There are many potential explanations for this finding, including differences in the ways that men and women respond to surveys or differences in the way they view marital satisfaction.
Interestingly, there was no association of parental divorce during childhood on stroke risk for adult women. Given that divorcing parents do not typically take the decision to separate lightly, negative descriptions of children’s long-term outcomes may lead to increased feelings of guilt and blame. However, it is important to note that the study does not point to an exact cause or physiology behind the increase in stroke rates among the adult males who experienced childhood parental divorce.
Being married has been shown to improve stroke survival for those who do have a stroke. This finding was true for men and women, and it turned out that those who were married had a higher chance of survival than those who had never been married and those who had been divorced.
This could be explained by the fact that a stroke survivor who has a spouse also has a number of practical advantages. Getting to the hospital promptly has been shown to increase survival after a stroke because life-saving treatment can be administered. This often depends on whether there is a companion available to call for emergency help when stroke symptoms begin.
Also, post-stroke recovery at home may involve a number of prescriptions, medical visits, and therapy appointments, all of which can go more smoothly if there is an involved spouse who can remind the stroke survivor to take prescribed medication and to follow through with medical appointments.
In addition to the practical advantages, there may also be some subtle advantages to having a spouse, such as emotional support. Some studies show that a peaceful emotional and spiritual life can help in stroke recovery.
A stroke can produce a number of neurological changes, including alterations in the stroke survivor’s ability to understand other people’s feelings and facial expressions. The lack of appropriate social and emotional responses by the stroke survivor can be very difficult for the survivor’s spouse and may decrease marital satisfaction for the healthier spouse, who is usually the primary caregiver, after a stroke.
