Getting divorced increases the risk of suffering multiple heart attacks, according to a new study.

Scientists had already established that divorcees face a higher risk of dying from cardiac events compared to both non-divorced singletons and married people, however a new analysis shows the increased chance of a second event is even higher.

Researchers analysed data from nearly 30,000 one-year survivors of a first heart attack in Sweden.

They monitored them for four years and assessed their marital status.

The team found that divorced patients had an 18 per cent greater risk of a recurrent event than married patients.

Experts have previously said that people with a loving partner are more likely to be encouraged to keep fit, as well as comply with doctors’ orders such as taking medication.

In the new study, undertaken by Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, those from a less well-off household were also found to be at greater risk of a recurrent cardiac event.