A Higher Education = A Stronger Heart

In another remarkable finding linking education with personal health-care, new research indicates that more education is associated with reduced risk for heart disease and stroke for people who live in wealthy countries such as the United States. While the same results were not found in lower and middle-income countries, the study is further evidence that pursuing higher education is a good means to preventing or at prolonging the effects of high blood pressure, obesity, and clogged blood vessels, partially because better educated individuals are though to avoid risky activities that lead to heart disease and stroke.

The study was lead by Dr. Abhinav Goyal, assistant professor of epidemiology and medicine (cardiology) at Emory Rollins School of Public Health and Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta. The two-year study looked at the more 60,000 individuals from 44 countries who have been diagnosed with heart disease or stroke. Goyal's team found that most educated men smoked less than men with less formal education. Obesity is also less in high-income countries across different education levels but tended to go up in low- to middle- income nations. Interestingly, while smoking prevalence decreased in men of varying education levels from high income countries, it increased in women, underscoring the importance of health education. As Goyal points out: "We can't assume that just because certain groups are more educated than others that they're going to have healthier lifestyles. Everyone needs to be educated about the risk of heart disease in particular, and counseled to adopt healthy lifestyles and to quit smoking."

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