Written By: Prerna Mittra | Updated : May 2, 2024 6:01 PM IST
The participants recalled events and episodes that made them 'angry, sad, or anxious'. A control group 'repeatedly counted' from 1 to 100 out loud for eight minutes and 'maintained a neutral emotional state'. (Photo: Freepik)
When we are livid, our blood usually gushes through the veins, we feel flushed in the face, our heart rate goes up, the heart starts to beat faster and the head also feels like it is going to explode. But, while these are some physiological attributes of anger, can it have deeper, more dangerous implications? According to a recent study, being angry for just 8 minutes can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. The research -- emerging from the Journal of the American Heart Association -- states there is a relationship between an 'acute episode of anger' and an 'increased risk of heart attack'. Read on to find out more.
Citing the research, a People report mentioned that AHA's May 1 findings result from studies conducted by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Yale School of Medicine, St John's University in New York, and other institutions. Researchers reportedly invited 280 'healthy adults' and 'randomised' them into four groups. The participants recalled events and episodes that made them 'angry, sad, or anxious'. Interestingly, a control group 'repeatedly counted' from 1 to 100 out loud for eight minutes and 'maintained a neutral emotional state'. The 'blood samples' of the group members and 'measurements of blood flow and pressure' were tested before and after the study.
Lead study author Dr Daichi Shimbo, professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Columbia University in New York City was quoted as saying by CNN: "There have been some studies in the past that have linked the feelings of anger, the feelings of anxiety and the feelings of sadness to heart disease risk in the future." He added that anger's 'adverse effects' on health and disease may be due to its 'adverse effects on vascular health' -- the blood vessel health itself.
The People report cited the findings of the research and mentioned that the ability of the blood vessels to dilate for participants in the 'angry' group was 'significantly reduced'. In fact, for those individuals in the 'sadness' and 'anxiety' groups, their blood vessel dilation was not affected. According to the Cleveland Clinic, blood vessels contain muscle that controls just how wide or narrow the vessels are at any given time. When blood vessels get wider, it is called vasodilation; when blood vessels constrict, it is known as vasoconstriction. Dilation and contraction can cause vessels to increase or decrease the flow of blood to parts of the body.
According to the Mayo Clinic, an ischemic stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is blocked or reduced, which prevents brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. Brain cells then begin to die. Another type of stroke is a hemorrhagic stroke that occurs when a blood vessel in the brain leaks or bursts and causes bleeding in the brain. The blood increases pressure on brain cells and damages them.
A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced or blocked. The blockage is usually due to a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances in the (coronary) arteries. The fatty, cholesterol-containing deposits are called plaques, and the process of plaque buildup is called 'atherosclerosis'.
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