Divorce is heartbreaking, as anyone can tell you. However, getting a divorce may literally be bad for your heart, as a recent study suggests. You and other New Jersey residents may want to learn about the potential link divorce has with the risk of heart attacks.

According to Time, women may have an increased risk of heart attack after just one divorce, and their risk may significantly increase with two or more divorces. In the Duke University study, researchers concluded that women who divorced once had a 24 percent higher chance of having a heart attack than women who stayed married. Getting two or more divorces can raise your risk of heart attack to 77 percent, warns the study. Also, your risk remains high even if you remarry.

How hard on men’s hearts is a divorce, you may wonder? The study suggested men’s risk of a heart attack slightly increases after two or more divorces, and their risk lowers if they remarry. The stress hormone cortisol is believed to be responsible for raising blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol to dangerous levels, especially for women.

Should you just stay married instead of risking your heart? Not necessarily. After all, the stress, anxiety and depression you experience during an unhappy marriage can also spike the levels of cortisol in your body. Instead, you may weigh the benefits of ending a miserable marriage and consult with your doctor about ways to stay healthy and lower your risk of heart problems. This information is not meant to replace the advice of a lawyer.