Anger linked to women’s heart problems
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Some women who make a habit of venting their anger may be more likely to develop blockages in the heart arteries, new research suggests.
Past studies have linked anger and hostility to a greater risk of heart disease, but most of those have focused on men.
These latest findings, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, suggest that there is a relationship between anger and heart health in women, but it’s complex.
Researchers found that women who tended to outwardly express their anger had a higher risk of artery blockages if they also had one of several other heart risk factors: older age, diabetes or high cholesterol. Other measures of hostility, like suppressed anger and hostile temperament in general, were unrelated to the risk of coronary artery disease.
It’s possible that expressed anger was the most “toxic” aspect of a hostile temperament, according to the study authors, led by Dr. David S. Krantz of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science in Bethesda, Maryland.
On the other hand, it’s not clear that anger actually contributed to the development of their heart disease.
In fact, the study found that the highest levels of anger and hostility—expressed or not—were seen in women with more severe symptoms but no evidence of blockages in their heart arteries.
It’s possible that this finding reflects the women’s frustration at not having a diagnosis for their chest pain and other symptoms, according to Merz and her colleagues.
The results are based on 636 women taking part in the government-funded Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study, an investigation aimed at improving heart disease diagnosis in women.
All of the study participants had chest pain or other potential symptoms of coronary artery disease, and underwent angiography to look for blockages in the heart arteries.
The women also completed standard measures of anger and hostility. The questionnaires gauge whether a person has an anger-prone temperament, and how he or she deals with it—outwardly expressing it or keeping it inside.
Only expressed anger was linked to the risk of showing objective artery blockages on an angiogram, but women who had more symptoms scored higher on all measures of anger and hostility than women with fewer symptoms.
A better understanding of how anger and other emotions affect heart health could eventually aid in diagnosing coronary heart disease, according to the researchers.
Moreover, they add, the findings suggest that women with unexplained chest pain may need help in dealing with the psychological effects of remaining undiagnosed.
SOURCE: Journal of Women’s Health, December 2006.
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