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Health: Anger outbursts linked to heart attacks

 

Manila Bulletin 

 

 

 

Paris, France  — People who have outbursts of anger are at greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the two hours immediately after the episode, European researchers said Tuesday.

The study -- a big review of published papers -- is the first to give powerful statistical backing to suspicions that strong emotions can drive cardiac risk, although the underlying biological causes remain unclear.

In the two hours immediately after an angry outburst, an individual's risk of myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndrome rose nearly five-fold, to 4.7 percent, compared to times when the person was calm, thestudy found.

The risk of stroke tripled, to 3.6 percent, it also found. There were also higher risks for arrythmia, or an erratic beating of the heart.

The risks rose proportionately if the person had a history of cardiovascular problems or was frequently angry.

"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," said Elizabeth Mostofsky at the Harvard School of Public Health in Massachusetts.

"This is particularly important for people who have higher risk due to other underlying risk factors or those who have already had a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.

"For example, a person without many risk factors for cardiovascular disease, who has only one episode of anger per month, has a very small additional risk, but a person with multiple risk factors or a history of heart attack or stroke, and who is frequently angry, has a much higher absolute excess risk accumulated over time."

The researchers calculated that one extra heart attack per 10,000 people per year can be expected among people with low cardiovascular risk who are angry only once a month.