Research recently published in Health Behavior and Policy Review finds that optimistic people have significantly better heart health than those who live with a more cynical outlook. In fact, the most optimistic people are twice as likely to be in the best of cardiovascular health than those who are deemed more pessimistic.

Cardiovascular health was measured in the University of Illinois study in seven ways: body mass index, blood pressure, levels of serum cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, diet, tobacco use and physical activity. These are the metrics the American Heart Association (AHA) uses to define cardiovascular health.

The study looked at associations between heart health and optimism in over 5,100 adults. Lead author Dr. Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work, said the association between optimism and “ideal” heart health is true even after adjustments were made for socio-demographics and poor mental health.

The AHA’s cardiovascular health test, the LS7, was given to study participants. Zero, one or two points — representing poor, intermediate, and ideal scores — were assigned to study participants for each of the seven heart-health variables. Once tabulated, the scores were then added up to generate a total cardiovascular health score. Scores of the individual participants ranged from zero to 14, with higher scores being better.

Participants ranged from 45 to 84 years old. In addition to the heart health analyses, surveys were also administered that measured physical health, mental health, and optimism levels. Criteria was based upon the self-reported existence of medical diagnoses of liver and kidney disease and arthritis.

Researchers noted a correlation between the total health grades of study participants and their levels of optimism. In the end, people who showed the most optimism were 50 to 76 percent more likely to have been placed in the intermediate or ideal ranges of the health surveys. When characteristics such as race, age, ethnicity, education level and income were factored in, the connection between heart health and optimism was even stronger.

According to the study’s findings, optimism and cardiovascular health were associated regardless of individual background. Optimists had healthier body mass indexes, were more physically active, and less likely to smoke. They also had significantly better cholesterol and blood sugar levels than those seen as less optimistic.

Hernandez said as little as a one point increase in an individual’s LS7 test score associates with a full eight percent reduction in their risk of stroke. This, she believes, may make the study of clinical significance.

Even moderate cardiovascular health differences translate into  significant reductions in death rates, she said. Prevention strategies aimed at psychological well-being may be one strategy the AHA could use to achieve its goal of “improving Americans’ cardiovascular health by 20 percent before 2020.”

Data for the study came from the trans-United States Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), which was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. In it, data from 6,000 people in six U.S. regions were collected and studied. Commenced in July 2000, MESA followed individuals for 11 years. Hernandez is an investigator with MESA, which is designed to detect cardiovascular disease non-invasively, ahead of any symptoms.