It is undoubtedly one of the most difficult emotions to control: anger. The latter manifests itself particularly in the face of stressful situations, conflicts or frustrations. It is characterized in particular by muscular tension, rapid breathing, a feeling of inner turmoil or even an acceleration in the heart rate.
American researchers have looked into the consequences of anger on heart health. They found that when adults became angry, it caused the cells lining blood vessels to malfunction, increasing the risk of heart disease andstroke (stroke). Their results are published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Anger causes blood vessel dysfunction
To arrive at these results, the researchers based themselves on a panel of 280 healthy adults. The researchers divided them into four groups and asked them to remember painful periods for 8 minutes. Three of these groups were notably expected to feel anger, anxiety or sadness. The fourth group was to remain neutral. To do this, they had to count to 100 for the duration of the experiment.
The researchers analyzed the functioning of endothelial cells (which line the inside of blood vessels) five times: at the start of the experiment, after, 3 minutes, 40 minutes, 70 minutes and finally after a period of 100 minutes. As the researchers point out in the press release, “Endothelial dysfunction has been implicated in the development of atherosclerosisor hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attack and strokes”.
Heart health and mental health may be linked, researchers say
The researchers then noticed that feeling anger, even for a brief period, led to “an alteration in blood vessel dilation, from zero to 40 minutes after the task. The deficiency was no longer present after 40 minutes”, write the authors. In a press release, Daichi Shimbo, professor of medicine at Columbia University in New York, emphasizes: “We saw that arousing a state of anger led to blood vessel dysfunction, although we do not yet understand what may cause these changes.”
This is not the first time that researchers have highlighted the consequences of mental health on heart health. “For example, we know that intense sadness or similar emotions are a common trigger for Takotsubo cardiomyopathyand that events such as earthquakes or even watching a football match as a fan, which cause stress, can lead to myocardial infarction and or arrhythmias”, recalls Glenn Levine, professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in the press release.
Researchers call for further research to understand the mechanism between anger and blood vessel dysfunction.
Sources :
- Brief anger may impair blood vessel function – American Heart Association (communqué)
- Translational Research of the Acute Effects of Negative Emotions on Vascular Endothelial Health: Findings From a Randomized Controlled Study – Journal of the American Heart Association.
