Friends, lovers lower 2nd heart attack risk

Heart attack survivors with a close friend, relative or lover to confide in are half as likely to suffer further heart attacks within a year as patients without a shoulder to cry on, a study shows.

The study, published this week in the British Medical Association's journal Heart, tracked nearly 600 patients for a year after they had a heart attack.

"Patients with a close confidant had only half the risk of a further cardiac event of those without a confidant," the study said, adding that the finding held even when adjustments were made for a host of other heart disease risk factors.