Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China have found that life satisfaction reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke in adulthood. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JHA). The study included 121317 adult volunteers without heart disease at the time of enrollment in the observational study. Their average age was 57 years and 45% were male. The subjects were asked to rate their satisfaction with family, friendships, health, finances, and work, and to characterize their level of happiness on a special scale. Descriptive terms ranged from an “extremely happy” person to an “extremely unhappy” person. After the information was collected, a period of observation of the volunteers began. For 12 years, scientists recorded all cardiovascular events in the participants' medical history. It turned out that the overall risk of cardiovascular disease was 10-21% lower in people with the highest life satisfaction scores. Specifically, the happiest subjects had a 44% lower risk of coronary heart disease, a 45% lower risk of stroke, a 51% lower risk of heart failure, and a 56% lower risk of heart attack. Additional analysis showed that people with high levels of well-being tend to have healthier lifestyles and are characterized by low markers of inflammation in the body. These factors serve as a kind of protection against heart and vascular disease.