The Importance of Optimism in Regards to Cardiology

While it is occasionally challenging to remain positive with CVD or any chronic illness, it is nevertheless important to try.

According to the article Optimism and Cardiovascular Health: Longitudinal Findings From the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study, "Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death both in the U.S. and worldwide" (Boehm et al., 2020). This fact alone is pretty disheartening.

However, "individuals who feel optimistic about the future (i.e., those who expect more good than bad outcomes) show a lower risk of experiencing a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death" (Boehm et al., 2020). More specifically, "a recent meta-analysis confirmed these findings and reported that individuals with higher levels of optimism have a 35% lower risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event compared to individuals with lower levels of optimism" (Boehm et al., 2020). It is possible that this is due to how "optimism promotes healthy behaviors (e.g., physical activity) and is related to effective goal pursuit and coping with challenges" (Boehm et al., 2020). Thus, it could be said that according to this study, optimism may lower the risk of developing and worsening factors traditionally associated with CVD.

In the case of conventional methods of managing and preventing CVD, the goal has been "to mitigate existing risk factors (e.g., lowering high levels of blood pressure with medication or altering diet to lose weight)" (Boehm et al., 2020). However, with a positive view of the future, individuals tend to take better care of themselves to reach the desired outcome, thus lowering the need for medical intervention in the first place. Thus, there are cardiovascular benefits to embracing a generally optimistic attitude, as it "promotes factors that preserve cardiac health across the lifespan" (Boehm et al., 2020). Therefore, it could be said that a more positive attitude can be considered cardiovascularly beneficial to an individual's overall health.

While this does not dismiss the gravity of the initial statistic nor the stigma attached to it, it should be remembered that incorporating a more positive attitude can assist in promoting a more increased outcome with one's current cardiovascular issues, but also serves as a means of preserving one's health for the future one can be more likely to, hopefully, fully embrace.

However, there is a line between optimism and toxic positivity. The next post will address this potentially hazardous dichotomy.

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Reference List:

Boehm, J.K., Qureshi, F., Chen, Y., Soo, J., Umukoro, P., Hernandez, R., Lloyd-Jones, D. and Kubzansky, L.D. (2020). Optimism and Cardiovascular Health: Longitudinal Findings From the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 82(8), pp.774–781. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0000000000000855.