Can Anger Hurt Your Heart?A large body of research supports the idea that chronicallyangry people are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.

When you get angry...

...stress hormones flood your bloodstream, causing your heart to race and your blood pressure to rise.

In the two hours following an anger outburst:

5x 4xThe risk of having a heart attack or an episode of unstable angina (chest pains) is five times higher.

The risk of having a strokeis four times higher.

1

2

That’s not to say that if you get angry, you are sure to have a heart attack or stroke.

results in:

January March April May June July August September October November DecemberS M T W T F S

FebruaryS M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S

one anger episode per month

just one extra cardiovascular eventper year for every 10,000 people

at low cardiovascular risk

+1

just four extra cardiovascular eventsper year for every 10,000 people

at high cardiovascular risk

+4

But if you get angry a lot, the risk rises substantially.five anger episodes per day

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

results in:

one hundred and fifty eight extra cardiovascular events per year for every 10,000 people

at low cardiovascular risk

+158

six hundred and fifty seven extra cardiovascular events per year for every 10,000 people

at high cardiovascular risk

+657

Bottom Line: Anger is a natural, sometimes useful part of life. Moreover, suppressinganger may also be bad for your health. But if you are prone to uncontrolled or chronic

anger—especially if you have cardiovascular disease or are at high risk for it—

it’s prudent to find ways to temper your temper.COUNSELING CAN HELP MEDITATION & YOUR HEART

GLASS HALF-FULL?

You might seek counseling to help identify what makes you angry, and for training in skills that will allow you to remedy the situation.

Research has shown1 that people with a high cardiovascular risk who meditated regularly had fewer heart attacks and less anger after 5 years than those who did not meditate.

YOUR ANGER GAMEPLANOnce you’ve identified what can trigger an outburst, develop a plan for controlling your temper. The Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley recommends threestrategies for managing anangry interaction.2

While there’s inconclusive evidence that personality and optimism can improve health, looking on the bright side certainly won’t hurt, and mayeven make life more enjoyable.3

Links:1. http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-mind/mind-body/article/meditation-and-your-heart2. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_right_way_to_get_angry 3. http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-mind/mood/article/two-cheers-optimism

Source:http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-mind/mood/article/can-anger-hurt-your-heart

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