Happily married people who undergo coronary bypass surgery are more likely to live longer after their procedure than people who never walked down the aisle. That's according to researchers at the University of Rochester.

The study looked at 225 patients. Researchers found that after bypass surgery, marital satisfaction is as important to survival as traditional risk factors like tobacco use, obesity and high blood pressure.

Researchers say patients with supportive spouses are more than three times as likely to live longer after bypass surgery than unmarried people. They say in satisfying marriages, couples support and encourage healthy behavior like exercise, that is critical to long-term survival from heart disease.

For both men and women, 83 percent of happily wedding people were still alive 15 years after surgery. Only 36 percent of unmarried men were alive and only 28 percent of unmarried women were alive 15 years after surgery.

While marriage may be good for your heart, it may not be good for your waistline.

Researchers from Ohio State University studied the body mass index of more than 10,000 people over a 2 year period after divorce or marriage. They found that the shock of a marital transition affects weight differently for men and women.

The risk for large weight gain is more likely for men after divorce, and for women after they get married, especially for those over age 30.

"Married women often have a larger role around the house than men do, and they may have less time to exercise and stay fit than similar unmarried women," experts said. "On the other hand, studies show that married men get a health benefit from marriage, and they lose that benefit once they get divorced, which may lead to their weight gain."

Researchers took into account factors that affect weight gain, like pregnancy for women, poverty, education and socioeconomic status.

This is today's Facebook Story of the Day. To help pick the story, click here.