Researchers followed 1,483 participants who all had one thing in common: a sibling who had suffered a cardiac event (like a heart attack or sudden death from heart problems) before the age of 60, which makes them twice as likely to have a cardiac event themselves. For nearly 25 years, researchers checked in with the subjects about their well-being, life satisfaction, relaxation levels, and overall mood. According to their results published in the American Journal of Cardiology, a positive well-being was linked to a one-third reduction in coronary events from occurring. And among the participants whose risk was higher due to other factors, a cheery attitude resulted in a 50% reduction. More from Prevention: What Kind Of Sad Are You? But it’s not just happiness we’re talking about here—even happy people get stressed. “There are six different domains that go into a persons’ positive well-being,” says researcher Lisa R. Yanek, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. They include feeling cheerful, feeling relaxed, being energetic, satisfaction with their lives, emotional and behavioral control, and being free from health concerns. Even though researchers don’t quite understand the mechanism that makes a sunny disposition so effective on high-risk groups, they do know it’s about more than just stress reduction. “Positive well-being also has components of vitality, life satisfaction, and emotional control, all of which may contribute to a healthier heart,” says Yanek. More from Prevevention: Two Minute Happiness Tricks
