but first, we leave you with a look at tonight's prime time line up only on wnct. In today's top health stories... Spirituality has been shown to have benefits for physical and mental health. Now new research finds being spiritual may help heart failure patients. Michael george has more. Pat gerney was diagnosed with heart failure seven years ago after her daughter who is a nurse noticed a change. I was going up the steps/and I'm very active./And she said, Mom, are you short of breath? The 73 year old considers herself a spiritual person a devout catholic who prays every day, mostly for others. I've just prayed and asked for the grace and strength to get through these things. And so I knew at that point when I was diagnosed that I was strong physically and in my faith. New research shows spirituality can improve the quality of life for heart failure patients like pat. Researchers at duke university hospital reviewed nearly 50 studies on the topic including a 2017 study duke conducted. incorporating aspects of spirituality actually reduced anxiety, depression Spirituality can be hard to define. Researchers say many describe it as how people find meaning and purpose in life, which can be separate from religious beliefs. Study co-author dr. Robert mentz is the chief of heart failure at duke, which is now developing a spirituality screening tool, similar to how doctors check for depression. we can ask these questions /about purpose, peace and meaning/ I think that opens the door to hopefully improve patient care I continue to walk and I continue to garden and just stay active. And when the grandchildren are around, chase them around pat takes medication for her condition and says she's grateful her faith and family bring her such comfort. Michael george cbs news, new york. And speaking of heart health..... Smokers are less likely to survive a heart attack than non- smokers. That's according to new research being presented at the american physiological society's annual meeting. Researchers found levels of a protein in the liver were significantly less in smokers. It's believed the protein could offer protection to heart tissue when it's released during a heart attack. Let's head back over to zoe now for another look at your storm team nine's forecast. Good morning eastern north carolina and happy monday! Who's looking forward to more heat and sunshine as we head later into the spring and summer seasons?! I know I am! The first week of april is starting off on a really nice and seasonable note, with temperatures right around 70 degrees this afternoon. Throughout the month of march, however, we have seen some heat. We got up to 83 degrees earlier in the month, and we have 80s returning to the forecast this week as well. But, along with heat comes unsettled weather and possibly some strong to severe storms. We are really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point // but in the industry we call that a clean sweep!" coming up after the break