Anger Management

Today’s headlines about wars and job losses got you riled up? Angry at the kids for leaving their toys scattered across the living room floor? Hopping mad because your favorite team lost again? Calm down and take it easy – it could save your life.

Recent research has found that men who are prone to outbursts of anger are at greater risk of having a stroke or dying, according to a study published recently in Circulation: the Journal of the American Heart Association.

No such link was found among the women studied.

Researchers followed the offspring of participants of the famed Framingham Heart Study for 10 years to determine if anger, hostility and Type A behavior were linked to heart disease. Specifically, the researchers looked for the development of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that affects 2 million Americans and is on the increase as the population ages. In people with atrial fibrillation the upper two chambers of the heart quiver instead of beating effectively. Because blood isn’t completely pumped out of these chambers when the heart beats, blood can pool, form clots and increase the stroke risk.

The study of 1,769 men and 1,913 women found that men with feelings of hostility were 30 percent more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than men with lower hostility levels. Hostile people were defined as those who expect the worst from others and are contemptuous of others. Men who scored high in “trait anger” had a 10 percent greater risk of developing the irregular heart rhythm compared to men without increased anger. Those scoring high on trait anger described themselves as quick-tempered and furious when criticized. Men who scored high in trait anger were 20 percent more likely to have died from any cause during the study period.

Researchers found no link between those who exhibited Type A behavior and increased risk of heart trouble. Type A behavior does not include anger and hostility, but rather involves competitiveness and a hurried attitude.

The study seems to counter the notion that letting anger out is healthy. “There has been a perception that you can dissipate the negative health effects of anger by letting anger out instead of bottling it up,” said lead researcher Elaine Eaker of Eaker Epidemiology Enterprises of Wisconsin. “But that was not the case in this study.”

So, if you are male and angry, when it comes time to write that check to the Internal Revenue Service or when someone cuts you off on the highway, don’t get too worked up about it. Think of your heart instead.