New research shows that there is a relationship between an acute episode of anger and an increased risk of heart attack, per a study from the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The AHA’s Wednesday, May 1, findings result from studies by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Yale School of Medicine, St. John’s University in New York, and other institutions.
The researchers invited 280 healthy adults and randomized them into four groups that recalled events that made them angry, sad, or anxious. A control group also repeatedly counted out loud from 1 to 100 for eight minutes and maintained a neutral emotional state.
The group members’ blood samples and measurements of blood flow and pressure were tested both before and after the studies.
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As a result of the study, the blood vessels’ ability to dilate for the participants in the angry group was significantly reduced in comparison to the control group. Additionally, for those in the sadness and anxiety groups, their blood vessel dilation wasn’t affected.
Dilation and contraction can cause blood vessels to increase or decrease the flow of blood in necessary parts of the body. Any negative impact on blood vessel dilation could signify atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is “a hardening of your arteries from plaque [fat, cholesterol and other substances] building up gradually inside them,” and can cause heart attacks, strokes, coronary heart disease or kidney disorders, per the Cleveland Clinic.
UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine professor Dr. Holly Middlekauff advises physicians to tell their patients with heart disease and anger management to do exercise, including yoga, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy.
Middlekauff was not involved in the study but told NBC News: “It’s not widely known or widely accepted that anger does precipitate heart attacks.”
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The researchers hypothesize that several factors could be contributing to this relationship, including increased inflammation and activation of the autonomic nervous system and changes caused by stress hormones.
