Dads Less Likely To Die Of Heart Problems, Study Finds

Interesting study - it suggests that I am screwed, since I will never have children. On the other hand, my cholesterol is under 140, my calcium score is 8 (on a scale of 0-400+), and my resting pulse is 52. I work out regularly and I eat a very healthy diet. Heart disease is not likely.

A quote of note:

Men often ask him what they can do to keep from dying of a heart attack, he said. 


"I'm not really prepared to, on the basis of this, tell them to start having a few kids," Dr. Daniel Rader said.

Good answer, or Gee, ya think?

Dads Less Likely To Die Of Heart Problems, Study Finds

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE   09/26/11

-- Fatherhood may be a kick in the old testosterone, but it may also help keep a man alive. New research suggests that dads are a little less likely to die of heart-related problems than childless men are.

The study – by the AARP, the government and several universities – is the largest ever on male fertility and mortality, involving nearly 138,000 men. Although a study like this can't prove that fatherhood and mortality are related, there are plenty of reasons to think they might be, several heart disease experts said.

Marriage, having lots of friends and even having a dog can lower the chance of heart problems and cardiac-related deaths, previous research suggests. Similarly, kids might help take care of you or give you a reason to take better care of yourself.

Also, it takes reasonably good genes to father a child. An inability to do so might mean a genetic weakness that can spell heart trouble down the road.

"There is emerging evidence that male infertility is a window into a man's later health," said Dr. Michael Eisenberg, a Stanford University urologist and fertility specialist who led the study. "Maybe it's telling us that something else is involved in their inability to have kids."

The study was published online Monday by the journal Human Reproduction.

Read the whole article.