People with Partners in Life Tend to Live Longer, Experts Say

Want to have longer and happier life? Have a partner who will be willing to serve as a “stress absorber.”

According to Dr. Helen Ong-Garcia, Philippine Heart Association (PHA) director/advocacy committee chair, those who have partners regardless of gender tend to have longer life because they can “communicate” which is the key to lessening stressful factors in people’s lives.

In a health forum conducted by the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) at Annabel’s Restaurant in Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City for the heart month of February, Dr. Ong-Garcia said there will be lesser pressure for a person if there is someone that he or she can talk to.

“If you have somebody to communicate with, somebody to unload your stress, to share your problems, somebody that will assist or help you, then you are less stressed because being alone is stressful already,” Dr. Garcia explained.

She cited as an example the animal kingdom wherein animals living as a family have been shown to grow in a better path because everyone needs someone, just like the saying “no man is an island.”

She said that since stress is a major problem for many people, it is vital that it is communicated to others who are willing to listen.

Some usual life–stressors are hectic, like stressful jobs, a chaotic home life, bills to worry about, and other not so happy circumstances which are sometimes worsened by unhealthy lifestyles such as uncontrolled way of eating, drinking and smoking.

“Therefore, having a partner in life gives you comforting feelings because the unhappy or unhealthy feeling is lessened and even released as you communicate about them,” Dr. Garcia said.

When she mentioned the word “partner” in life, she clarified that it does not necessarily meant marriage or relationship partners like husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend but a friend or companion of any gender who understands, listens or absorbs what a partner shares.

She explained that since a separated or single individual has different dispositions in life, it depends upon him or her whom to choose to communicate his/her feelings and what matters most is that the there is someone to act as “stress absorber.”

On her part, Dr. Liberty Yaneza, former chair of the PHA Council on Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), said that those who are depressed or have jilted feelings due to loss of a loved one sometimes tend to release more hormones which fastens heart beat.

She noted that in effect, the faster heart beat tends to narrow the vein passage supplying oxygen to the heart and makes a person prone to cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

“If we are in-love (or showing love to others), we are releasing relaxing hormones. We do not think much of stress,” she said.

She added that at night, when the body is relaxed, the “heart, which God made 24/7 to be utilized for sleeping,” beats slower, unlike when somebody is thinking a lot “because thinking a lot or lacking a relax (stress-free condition) will cause the heart to beat faster.”

In keeping a healthy heart, it will be a good way to take a look at a “turtle as a good example which exhibits slow heart beat, Dr. Yaneza said.

“Studies have shown that due to slower heart beat of turtles, they also tend to have longer life. That is why in treating patients with heart attack, we often give them beta blockers to slow down their heart beats,” she added.

CAD or heart and blood vessel diseases ranks among the top 10 leading causes of sickness in the country while heart diseases are among the top killers of Filipinos.

The main risk factors of CAD are smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and family history of CAD.

Aside from the advice of physicians for people to have “partners in life” that can contribute to a happy and longer life, PHA also reminds people to practice eating balanced diet with more fruits and vegetable or avoiding “fatty” foods or lifestyles that are not appropriate for the promotion of a healthy heart.

Other recommendations are having exercise or avoiding sedentary lifestyles like longer hours in computer or television, and having regular check-up with doctors, especially if they have a family history of heart diseases.

Taking soft drinks and other sweet beverages is also not recommended as said beverages lead to obesity and diabetes which gradually affects the heart. (PNA) SCS/LSJ