Anger Causes Cardiovascular Disease and Affects Women More

MIAMI.- The study examined the acute effects of anger on people’s health and found that it is very harmful as it alters the functioning of blood vessels, causing cardiovascular events that can lead to death, which affects women more.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has identified a mechanism to determine the link between emotional outbursts and heart disease, and how unexpected bad news or fear can change the functioning of blood vessels.

“The syndrome, called Tako-tsubo by Japanese scientists, is a heart condition resembling acute myocardial infarction, discovered in the 1990s and initially considered a rare disease. But we now know that this happens with varying frequency all over the world. It is triggered when a stressful situation releases large amounts of the neurotransmitter catecholamine, similar to adrenaline, which excites the heart and can break one of its valves. This type of cardiovascular disease affects women in 98% of cases. Among them, 2% of heart attacks are caused by an emotional reaction,” writes El País, citing the study.

In several publications, experts warn about the importance of seeking help when you have trouble controlling anger or other negative emotions. Thinking twice before getting angry is a difficult principle to follow.

In the work, conducted by researchers from the American Heart Association, a group of volunteers in good health were asked to report events that made them angry, worried or sad while various measures of their cardiovascular health were measured.

In the study, anger had a negative effect on changes in endothelium-dependent vasodilation, which can be defined as the monolayer separating tissue from the blood, while there were no statistically significant side effects of anxiety and sadness on the dependent vasodilation of this tissue. cells, the report says.

280 adult participants were randomly assigned to recall tasks for anger, depressed mood, anxiety, or an emotionally neutral state, each lasting 8 minutes.

Pre- and post-assessments of endothelial health were conducted, where anger gained greater statistical significance compared to other emotions.

Among people who reported experiences that made them angry, the ability of blood vessels to dilate, which serves as a form of cardiovascular protection, was reduced for about 40 minutes, which is associated with an increased likelihood of a heart attack. attack. This did not happen among those who recalled situations that made them anxious or sad.

Higher risk

Experiencing negative emotions, including anger, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Future research into the mechanisms underlying the association between anger and endothelial dysfunction may help identify specific intervention targets that are effective for the significant proportion of people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The authors suggest that if these effects of negative emotions are repeated, over time, “they may affect cardiovascular physiology, causing irreversible damage.” The results point in the same direction as other studies, which found that in the hour before a heart attack, a person suffering from a heart attack is more than twice as likely to experience some type of emotional distress as in the same period the previous day. .

A disorder that can be fatal

Disgust can be deadly. Although rare, cardiologists identify cases of heart attack caused by bad news or a traumatic event, such as those caused by broken heart disease (tako-tsubo).

Likewise, “the results provide insight into how stress alters how arteries protect against the risk of developing atherosclerotic obstruction,” says Manuel Anguita, a spokesman for the Spanish Society of Cardiology.

According to the cardiologist at the Reina Sofía University Hospital in Cordoba, this knowledge could be used to develop pharmacological approaches for people with a high risk profile due to stress.

“We encourage patients to talk to a clinical psychologist to learn how to modulate this stress response…” says Angita, although she notes that this collaboration between cardiologists and psychologists or psychiatrists is “not very developed yet,” Angita concluded.

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FOUNTAIN: American Heart Association / El País / Editorial Diario las Américas