Sunday, March 05, 2006



Bad marriages bad for your heart in more ways than one: "Stormy relationships are bad for your heart, research suggests. Psychologists in the US found that women who become hostile when they argue with their husbands are more likely to suffer from a hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks. And men are more likely to get the condition if their wives - or they - act in a controlling manner. A team from the University of Utah took 150 healthy married couples who were mostly in their 60s and asked them to pick a topic - such as money, in-laws or chores - that caused disagreements. Their discussions on the subjects were monitored and rated for hostility and controlling behaviour. Two days later, each had a CT scan to measure calcification or hardening of the arteries. In cases where both sides had been hostile in the discussion, particularly high levels of calcification were found. Professor Tim Smith, who led the research and presented its findings at the American Psychosomatic Society, said: "A low-quality relationship is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease."


Kiss OK after all: "A 15-Year-old girl with a peanut allergy did not die from kissing her boyfriend after he ate peanut butter but from another cause, a coroner has ruled. But coroner Michel Miron would not reveal what caused Christina Desforges's death, saying he simply wanted to speak out before her case was cited by the food allergies association. "The [association] intended to use the Desforges case to launch an education campaign," Mr Miron said. "I had to tell them the cause of death was different than first believed." At the time of Desforges's death last November, officials said doctors had been unable to treat her allergic reaction to the kiss. Thinking she was having an asthma attack, Desforges had desperately searched for medicine. Friends called an ambulance as her breathing grew laboured but she collapsed. She died four days later in a Quebec hospital".

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