Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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Ed Yeates Reporting No marriage is void of arguments. But a new University of Utah study shows the way couples disagree with each other could literally break their hearts!
"I do everything, literally! I do everything around the house. You do nothing!"
"You've got to handle things differently. You storm around the house like a cleaning Nazi!"
Back and forth! The 150 couples volunteering for this study took off on familiar issues.
In the experiment room, husband and wife sit across from each other, at a table, as demonstrated by Nancy Henry and Ryan Beveridge. Both are graduate clinical psychology students who helped code the study.
Actual couples were mostly in their 60's. But the style of arguing demonstrated here is similar to the real confrontations.
"You don't do the dishes. You don't do the laundry. You don't vacuum the floor."
"Have you ever mowed the lawn? Have you ever cleaned out the garage?"
During the confrontations, clinical psychologists behind a one-way mirror monitored blood pressure and heart rates. Each couple was also scored, based on CT scans of the calcification inside their arteries.
Dr. Cindy Berg/ University of Utah Clinical Psychology: "So we take a baseline period, so as they're in this conflict situation, we see rises in blood pressure and heart rate throughout that interaction."
Those physical changes apparently go much deeper. Depending on other risk factors, years of "spatting" this way may hasten hardening of the coronary arteries.
Dr. Tim Smith/ University of Utah Clinical Psychology: "What we found is that those behavior patterns are associated with a condition in the coronary arteries that places them at increased risk for actually having a heart attack."
A lot depends on the "style" of spatting.
Accumulation of disease appears to be slightly higher in women when both sides are hostile. Both are demeaning.
"Your approach is ridiculous. This is ridiculous."
"That is a dumb argument. That's a ridiculous argument."
On the other hand, the man's risk increases slightly when either one tries to dominate. It's my decision or none at all.
"I'm done talking about this with you. I'm not going to talk with you anymore."
So, for spouses concerned about breaking each other's hearts?
Berg: "It's not whether you fight or not. It's how you fight."
Simply said, spat a gentler, warmer, more loving way.
A caution here! Tim Smith says people get heart disease for lots of reasons other than arguing. This study just adds one more ingredient to that recipe we should be aware of.
