A study conducted on heart patients in Saudi Arabia and UAE has found that men with more than one wife are four time more likely to suffer a heart attack than their monogamous counterparts.

The findings of the study, which were recently presented at the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology Congress 2015 in Abu Dhabi, examined how polygamy put men at the risk of heart diseases, PTI reported.

"We found an association between an increasing number of wives and the severity and number of coronary blockages. This could be because the need to provide and maintain separate households multiplies the financial burden and emotional expense," Dr Amin Daoulah, a cardiologist at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia said.

The study, which was conducted on patients at five hospitals in Saudi Arabia and UAE, found a significant connection between number of wives and the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD), left main coronary artery disease (LMD) and coronary microvascular disease (MVD).

"The risk increased with the number of wives," the study noted. The study also found that 56% men had diabetes, 57% hypertension and 45% suffered from CAD.

The study also noted that men with more than one wife were more likely to be older, live in a rural area, have a higher income and have a history of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

The study concluded that men who practised polygamy had a 4.6-fold increased risk of CAD, a 3.5-fold increased risk of LMD and a 2.6-fold elevated risk of MVD.