A new study has found that social isolation can increase the risk of a heart attack for those living with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. 

Finish and UK researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland found that cardiovascular patients are more likely to have a recurring heart attack or stroke if they are socially isolates. 

Their findings were published in BMJ journal Heart, as reported by Sciemex. 

The findings did not apply to new cases of cardiovascular disease, which were still largely caused by health and lifestyle issues.  

For their study, researchers analysed data from 480,000 people aged between 40 and 69, who were all part of the UK Biobank study between 2007 and 2010. They assessed the role health factors other than loneliness played in the decline of heart disease and cardiovascular conditions.

Each participant was required to provide vital information to assist with the study, including their ethnic background, educational attainment, household income, lifestyle choices such as whether they smoked, drank alcohol and exercise habits, as well as any depressive symptoms. Participants were also asked a series of questions to measure their levels of social isolation and loneliness. Health was then tracked for around seven years.

The results found that 9 per cent of respondents were socially isolated and 6 per cent were lonely, while a further 1 per cent of participants were both isolated and loney. The findings also discovered that people who were lonely or socially isolated were more likely to have other underlying long-term conditions and to be smokers, while people found to be lonely were at greater risk of depressive symptoms.

During the seven years of analysis, 2,478 deaths were reordered, while 5,731 people had a first time heart attack and 3,471 experiencing a stroke for the first time. Researchers found that people who were socially isolated were 43 per cent more likely to experience a first time heart attack when factors of age, sex and ethnicity were also considered.

However, when behavioural, psychological, health, and socioeconomic issues were also factored in, they accounted for 84 per cent of the increased risk. The researchers also found that while social isolation was originally associated with a 39 per cent risk of stroke, other risk factors actually accounted for 83 percent of this risk. The results were also similar when it came to loneliness and the risk of first time heart attack or stroke.

What the study did find was that people who were socially isolated and had pre-existing cardiovascular disease had a 50 per cent higher risk of death, although this number halved when other factors were considered.

Social isolation was also associated with a 32 percent heightened risk of death when the other factors had also been considered.

Researchers said their findings “indicate that social isolation, similarly to other risk factors such as depression, can be regarded as a risk factor for poor prognosis of individuals with cardiovascular disease.”

They noted that because the study was observational, more studies would need to be done to draw firm conclusions.

What do you think? Have you ever experienced a heart attack or a stroke? Do you think that loneliness could contribute to this?