Anger Linked to Stroke and Heart Attack

Lisa Franchi March 04, 2014

Don’t let those little nuisances get into you. According to researchers, having a hot temper could increase your risk of having heart attack or stroke.

They identified a dangerous period of about two hours following an outburst when people were at heightened risk. But the researchers note that more work is needed to understand the link and find out if stress-busting strategies could avoid such complications.

People who have existing risk factors, such as a history of heart disease, are particularly vulnerable, they add.

The study, conducted by Harvard School of Public Health, found that two hours immediately after an angry outburst, risk of a heart attack increased nearly five-fold and risk of stroke increased more than three-fold, the data from nine studies and involving thousands of people suggests. Researchers say, at a population level, the risk with a single outburst of anger is relatively low - one extra heart attack per 10,000 people per year could be expected among people with low cardiovascular risk who were angry only once a month, increasing to an extra four per 10,000 people with a high cardiovascular risk.

But the risk is cumulative, meaning temper-prone individuals will be at higher risk still.

Published in the European Heart Journal, the new study estimates that five episodes of anger a day would result in around 158 extra heart attacks per 10,000 people with a low cardiovascular risk per year, increasing to about 657 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among those with a high cardiovascular risk.

"Although the risk of experiencing an acute cardiovascular event with any single outburst of anger is relatively low, the risk can accumulate for people with frequent episodes of anger." Dr Elizabeth Mostofsky, one of the researchers, said.

The researchers say it is worth testing what protection stress-busting strategies, such as yoga, might offer.

Source of this article:

Angry people ’risking heart attacks’