Updated September 22, 2014.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

In reading the health statistics of single versus married males, it is no secret that the longevity of a married male is much more than a single male. While it does make sense intuitively that a happy marriage likely makes for a better blood pressure for both husband  and wife, I wanted to investigate this further. Are there any studies correlating marriage and blood pressure? The answer is yes. 

One study is from the Annals of Behavioral Medicine in 2008.

The authors followed the results of the ambulatory blood pressure recordings of over 200 married and approximately 100 single men and women. One of the factors that was commented upon was the "dipping status" of the study subjects. The authors noted the following:

* Comparing the study subjects who were married and single: those married were found to have a greater "dipping status" overall.

* Marriage satisfaction is important: Those who were satisfied with their marriage had an even lower dipping status and overall lower blood pressures. The study subjects in this category also reported less incidence of depression and were better handle to handle stress as they were not that "stressed out " at home.

* What about the single individual? Well compared to a married individual who is not satisfied in their marriage, the single man or woman had a better "dipping blood pressure" than the "miserable" married individual. 

Overall, being married and being happy in that marriage was an awesome "double whammy" to have concerning having a great blood pressure.

 

Do Married Men And Women Become Angry For Different Reasons? 

There was a study from the journal Health Psychology in 1991 entitled "High blood pressure and marital discord: Not being nasty means more than being nice." The study investigators evaluated married men and women with a history of high blood pressure and recorded their blood pressure measurements during an argument. Yes, the  blood pressure increased for both men and women during "an argument" with their partner, but the impetus for the blood pressure rise was different for both men and women. 

The authors found that in women, the more unfriendly and hostile the encounter, the higher the blood pressure. In addition, in women the greater the marital discord, the higher the blood pressure reading. For men, the impetus was completely different. The blood pressures in men tended to change according to their rate of speech. This paper highlighted the gender differences in communication. 

From a Blood Pressure Perspective

If I am trying to be a good doctor and looking at all factors concerning blood pressure, then asking about marriage life is part of this because clearly marital happiness is related to blood pressure health. From having observed the habits of happily (and not so happily married) people over the past ten years, I have come to the following conclusions:

*  Happier couples try not to go to bed angry if at all possible. They try to resolve the situation prior to drifting off to sleep. Physiologically this is important and suppressed anger can increase high blood pressure and affect sleep quality.   

* Happier couples tell me that they know what the other person's "triggers" are. They are cognizant of what makes each other tick. The may have disagreements but debate about them in a fair way that leaves both sides satisfied. 

In summary, marriage is hard. It takes work but a happy marriage can reap many rewards, including a long  and happy life and a great blood pressure to boot.