MI survivors in a stressful relationship are more likely to have a rocky recovery, a study reports.

Compared with people in healthy relationships, patients under severe marital stress were 67% more likely to experience recurring chest pain during the first year of their recovery, reported Yale University researchers.

Severe marital stress also increased a person’s chances of rehospitalisation by nearly 50% and affected their quality of life and health.

On a 12-item scale, for example, participants with severe marital stress scored 2.6 points lower in mental health and more than 1.6 points lower in physical health compared with those reporting little to no stress.