--- title: Married People Heal Better After Heart Surgery, Study Shows description: A new study found that married patients recovered better after heart surgery than single or divorced patients. canonical: https://time.com/4092575/married-people-heart-surgery/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-29T15:06:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:39:41.812Z article:section: Health og:title: Married People Heal Better After Heart Surgery, Study Shows og:description: They had better outcomes than single or divorced patients og:url: https://time.com/4092575/married-people-heart-surgery/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5590bc2953766075/69886eaa5f570f4b45b1e13d/marriage-heart-surgery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5760 og:image:height: 3240 og:image:alt: Heart surgery-marriage og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Married People Heal Better After Heart Surgery, Study Shows twitter:description: They had better outcomes than single or divorced patients twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5590bc2953766075/69886eaa5f570f4b45b1e13d/marriage-heart-surgery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Married People Heal Better After Heart Surgery, Study Shows > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=090fca0a-c823-4b9a-b931-f32304a7ae5b&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Study Says Marriage Is Good For Your Heart ... Literally [Watch (HLS stream): Study Says Marriage Is Good For Your Heart ... Literally](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UIMQThkY.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2015-10-29. A new study says being married increases your chances for a better recovery after heart surgery._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 29, 2015 3:06 PM UTC A new study says being married increases your chances for a better recovery after heart surgery.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 29, 2015 3:06 PM UTC It turns out that marriage may actually mend broken hearts. [A new study](http://archsurg.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2466601) published in the _Journal of the American Medical Association_ found that married patients recovered better after heart surgery than single or divorced patients. After studying 1,576 adults over age 50 who had serious cardiac surgery, the researchers found that unmarried patients had a 40% greater chance of dying or developing complications two years after the surgery. This fits into a series of studies that show marriage can be beneficial to your health. But as [TIME’s Belinda Luscombe reports](http://time.com/4075847/better-marriage-health/), in many cases only those in happy marriages get the full benefit. **Read Next:** [_A Better Marriage Is Better for Your Health_](http://time.com/4075847/better-marriage-health/) ## Transcript Talk about marriage being good for the heart, literally. A new study found marriage can ease your recovery after heart surgery. The study was published Wednesday in the journal JAMA surgery. It claims patients who were married did significantly better than those who were divorced Widowed or separated, but not better than those who had never been married. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania used data from a University of Michigan study of more than 1, 500 adults over the age of 50 who had undergone heart surgery. The researchers said those who were divorced, widowed or separated were 40 % more likely to die. Die after heart surgery or develop a new disability within two years after the surgery. The researchers looked at how well the patients could perform everyday activities like dressing eating and taking showers without help. Study co author Mark Newman said the reason for the link between marriage and better heart surgery recovery remains unknown, but it may help doctors identify who may need more support after surgery. We should note that for the patients who had never been married Had about the same chances of successful recovery than people who were married. Granted, the unmarried patients only accounted for 2 % of the study participants, while the married patients accounted for 65 %. Doctor Asheesh Scholl is the head of heart transplantation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Shaw says the recent findings echo other studies that found married patients do better after surgery. Shaw says the recent findings echo other studies that found married patients do better after surgery. 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