According to NBC News, a recent scientific study suggested that there is a link between an acute tantrum and an increased risk of heart attack. Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Yale School of Medicine, St. Researchers from St. John’s University and other institutions launched a study to understand why.
A RESEARCH WITH 280 PARTICIPANTS WAS CONDUCTED
The researchers recruited 280 healthy young adults and randomly assigned them to four groups: anger, sadness, anxiety, and normal emotional states, respectively. They took blood samples from the researchers before they started and at 100-minute intervals thereafter, and measured blood flow and pressure.
DOES ANGER TRIGGER A HEART ATTACK?
The findings, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, show that anger can indeed affect the heart because it disrupts blood vessel function.
The researchers found that the ability of blood vessels to dilate was significantly reduced in people in the angry group compared to people in normal emotional states. No blood vessel dilation was observed in the sadness and anxiety groups.
BLOOD VESSEL EXPANSION CAUSES HEART ATTACK
Dilation is regulated by endothelial cells lining the insides of blood vessels. Blood vessels expand and contract, slowing or increasing blood flow to parts of the body that need it.
According to the study, the only problem was expansion. Impaired dilation of blood vessels is an early indicator of atherosclerosis, the buildup of fats and cholesterol in the artery walls, called plaque, that hardens the arteries. Atherosclerosis can lead to coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke and kidney disorders.
HOW DO WE CONTROL ANGER?
Cardiologist and professor of medicine Dr. Holly Middlekauff, MD, said the study’s results could help doctors persuade patients with heart disease and anger issues to manage their anger through yoga, exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy or other established techniques.
“It is not widely known or widely accepted that anger precipitates heart attacks,” said Middlekauff, who was not involved in the research. “This study lends biological plausibility to the theory that anger is bad for you, that it raises your blood pressure, and that we see deterioration in vascular health.”
