The more friends the lesser the risk of heart diseases

Men who have many friends they can turn to for support are significantly less likely to develop heart disease, findings from a new study show. A group of Swedish investigators found that men with the most social support were about half as likely to develop heart disease as men who had the least social support.

Study author Dr. Annika Rosengren told Reuters Health that these results likely apply to women, as well, since previous research has shown that, among women with heart problems, those who have few quality friends they see on a regular basis tend to have more widespread disease than others. Although these findings are compelling, the reason why having close friends and staying connected to them might help people's hearts remains a mystery, Rosengren said.

Consequently, the best thing people can do to keep their hearts healthy is still to stop smoking, eat well and get good exercise, the researcher added, informs &to=http://www.iribnews.com' target=_blank>IribNews