Anger Bad for the Heart
Depending on your personality and anger control can have an effect on one’s risk of heart disease and stroke. In Baltimore, the National Institute of Aging (NIA) discovered people who were quick to anger and aggression displayed a greater thickness of the carotid arteries in the neck compared to more easygoing people. A thickening of the carotid arteries is one of the main risk factors in stroke or heart attack.
People who were least agreeable and most antagonistic were 40% more likely to have artery wall thickening. The findings even go as far to suggest personality screening when testing for heart disease, the number one cause of death in America.
The NIA studied 5,614 from the village of Sardinia, Italy. The median age was 42 and 58% of participants were women. Researchers used ultrasound imaging to measure carotid artery and arterial wall thickness at five points. The researchers also screened the villagers for other cardiovascular disease risk factors like smoking and high blood pressure.
What the researchers found was that antagonistic people, regardless of age, had a thickening of the artery walls way above the expected norm based on normal risk factors alone. Though there were slight differences based on gender, both men and women with antagonistic personalities had much thicker artery walls compared to more easy-going people. Read more about the study at WebMD.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
