Handling emotions, especially anger, affects our the state of our hearts. It is known as cardiovascular health. Can anger cause high blood pressure? People who get angry and keep it inside might have unusual heart reactions to stress. The journal ‘Physiology and Behaviour’ published a study about effect of anger on heart health.
What we knew before
Past studies have connected anger with a higher chance of heart disease, strokes, and other heart problems. Some thought the way people react to others’ anger might increase these risks. Scientists wanted to learn how anger changes heart reactions. They hoped to find out why anger leads to heart issues.
“Anger personality types have been consistently associated with adverse cardiovascular health outcomes, with atypical stress responses acting as a key pathway leading to disease. We were particularly interested in identifying whether the way individuals express their anger was also an important factor in understanding this relationship,” said study author Adam O’Riordan, an assistant professor of psychology at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
They they did the new study
The team studied 669 people. They watched these people’s blood pressure and heart rate during a stress test.
The team looked at two kinds of anger: anger temperament and anger reaction. Anger temperament is anger that comes quickly for no reason. Anger reaction happens because of things like unfairness or criticism. They also checked how each person showed their anger. They labeled them as “anger-in” (holding anger in), “anger-out” (showing anger), or “anger control” (managing anger).
The team then made the participants stressed. They did this with two tasks: a math problem under time pressure and a color-naming task.
They kept track of the participants’ heart rates and blood pressures during these tasks. They also made the tasks harder or easier based on how well the participants did. This kept the stress level steady. Before and after these tasks, participants rated how stressed they felt.
Anger and heart health: the study’s results
The results showed different ways anger traits and how we express them affect our heart reactions. People with high anger temperament had a less strong heart reaction under stress. But they felt more stressed. Those who hold in their anger had even smaller increases in blood pressure.
People who got angry because of specific situations showed different heart reactions based on how they expressed their anger. Those who showed their anger or had little anger control had lower heart reactions. But those who managed their anger well had stronger heart reactions.
Having a good way to handle anger might lead to a more normal heart reaction. This could be better for long-term heart health. Weak heart reactions have been linked to health problems like lack of motivation and psychological issues.
So, can anger cause high blood pressure? Adam O’Riordan said, “The key findings from this study suggest that while individuals vary in terms of how they experience anger, it is extremely important to consider how these individuals express their anger. In particular, the adverse effect of high anger temperament on stress physiology appears to be heightened amongst individuals who suppress this anger.”
