Everyone has heard the saying that laughter is the best medicine. Well now, some evidence shows that maybe this saying is true– especially with regards to your heart.
A 2000 study out of the University of Maryland Medical Center found that people with heart disease were about 40 percent less likely to laugh in certain situations as compared to people without heart disease.
Translation: people without heart disease laugh more.
Michael Miller, M.D., F.A.C.C., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, and an associate professor at the School of Medicine, says “We don’t know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack.”
So how did the study work exactly?
Researchers tested the humor responses of 300 people. 150 people were healthy, regular adults and 150 people were of similar age and had either suffered a heart attack or had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. They participants in the study had to fill out two questionnaires. The first questionnaire asked multiple choice questions on how they would respond (in regard to laughter) in certain situations. The second questionnaire was a 50 question true-or-false survey which measured the participants’ preferences toward anger and hostility.
As you can probably guess by now, the “heart-unhealthy” patients laughed less, in both positive and uncomfortable situations, and displayed more anger and hostility. At least according to their questionnaires.
“We could perhaps read something humorous or watch a funny video and try to find ways to take ourselves less seriously,” Dr. Miller says. “The recommendation for a healthy heart may one day be — exercise, eat right and laugh a few times a day.”
So it appears that the Laughletter is good for your heart 
Cheers!
Ryan
If you would like to see a few more specifics of the study, you can find them at the source of the study, here.
