Heart disease patients with a positive attitude live longer than those with a negative attitude, and this boost in survival may be due to increased exercise, a new study suggests.

In the study, heart disease patients with a positive attitude were 42 percent less likely to die over a five-year period than those with a negative attitude. All patients in the study had coronary artery disease, or a narrowing or hardening of the arteries that supply blood to the heart.
What's more, patients with a positive attitude were about twice as likely to exercise. In fact, a further analysis revealed that those with a positive attitude lived longer because they exercised.
However, the researchers don't know which came first: Does a positive attitude give heart disease patients the motivation they need to exercise, or does exercise put you in a better mood?
There is evidence for both hypotheses, said study researcher Susanne Pedersen, a professor of cardiac psychology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands.
"Irrespectively, the finding cements what we already know - namely, that exercise is good for the heart," Pedersen said.
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