The online edition of the Daily Mail reported that researchers at the University of Texas looked at approximately 10,000 middle-aged men and women every two years for a period of 10 years as part of a health lifestyle survey.
The study revealed that more than 1,030 (one tenth of the total) developed cardiovascular disease.
In contrast, men were found to be physically unaffected by divorce and divorce had a negligible effect on the onset of heart disease.
The research is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. It shows 11.6 percent of divorced women and 10.7 percent of remarried women had developed heart disease. Only 8.7 percent of continuously married women showed developments of heart disease.
The researchers believe that divorced women were 60 percent more likely to develop heart problems later in life than those who were involved in a married relationship.
The study goes on to say that though some go on to marry again, the loss that they incur as a result of a failed marriage is likely to show up in problems with the heart.
The team at the University of Texas interprets that the study is indicative of the emotional stress of a divorce, along with the ensuing social and economic changes i.e. moving and reduction in income causing physical and mental problems in women.
