Optimists have good a reason to be cheerful as they are twice as likely as pessimists to recover well from heart attacks, according to a new study.
Researchers found that a positive attitude was linked to a lower risk of having another heart attack, needing surgery or dying in the next four years.
The scientists, from University College London, surveyed the mental attitudes of 369 people taken to hospital with unstable angina and heart attacks, before monitoring their health for almost four years.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation and published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, found that the most pessimistic patients were twice as likely to suffer the serious health complications as the most optimistic patients. The researchers said their findings