Anger in the Workplace:
Youthful
Anger Means Early Heart Disease
The
young and the angry could wind up older and more
prone to coronary heart disease (CHD). A Johns Hopkins
Medical School study, 48 years in the making, confirms
that young men who reacted to stress
with anger were three times more likely to
suffer from CHD before the age of 55 than their peers
who said they let stressful
situations
roll off their backs.
Anger
is no less deadly for women, according to the American
Heart Association (AHA)A recent North Carolina study
published in the journal Circulation looked at 256 men
and women who have had heart attacks and showed that
those prone to anger
were also three times more likely to have a heart
attack than those least prone to anger. The North
Carolina researchers say the findings were true for
individuals with normal blood pressure levels. Anger
could lead to heart attacks, particularly among middle-aged
men and women with normal blood pressure, the researchers
said.Previous studies had suggested a correlation between
anger and cardiovascular events, according to
Patricia Chang, M.D., a cardiology fellow at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
New studies focused on youth
"One
study suggested that there was a higher incidence of
anger remembered by heart attack victims a few
hours prior to their heart attack. But studies that
looked at anger in young people and the early
onset of cardiovascular disease had not really been
done.
"Chang used information developed during the Johns
Hopkins Precursors study, first started in 1948, to
see if there was a relationship between youthful anger
and premature heart disease. "The study was started
using questionnaires given out to each member of the
graduating medical school classes [at Johns Hopkins
Medical School] from 1948 to 1964," Chang notes.
The study had a 90 percent average response rate. "The
study continues in that we are following all these graduates
with at least an annual health status questionnaire,"
Chang says.
One of the questions on the original questionnaire asked,
"Whenever you find yourself in situations of undue
pressure or stress, how do you react?" The
young students then could check off any of 27 items.
Those who checked "expressed or concealed anger,
irritability and griping" in response to stressful
simulations were deemed to have high levels of anger.
"What we found was that in our group of roughly
1,000 men, those who said when they were younger that
they responded to stress with high levels of
anger were five to six times more likely to develop
heart attacks before the age of 55," Chang says.
"And those who reported high levels
of anger were up to three times more likely
for other premature manifestations of coronary vascular
disease, such as angina, hardening of the arteries,
higher blood pressure, congestive heart failure and
sudden death from heart disease.
"In another study, researchers found that people
who scored high on a 10-item anger scale were
more likely to be men and more likely to be smokers
and drinkers. Those findings emerged from analyzing
data from nearly 13,000 people who were followed for
as long as six years as part of the Atherosclerosis
Risk in Communities study.
What does anger do to your body?
Anger
has serious physiological effects on the body, Chang
says.
"Anger has been shown to narrow already
diseased blood vessels," she says. "We know
anger
increases blood pressure as well as heart beat rates
and adrenaline levels. In addition, anger may
also cause platelets, which are the blood cells that
form clots, to get sticky and clump, which of course
can cause a blockage and a heart attack.
"Research results speak a lot to the fact that
early behavioral
effects, even if modified over time, can put you
at risk for disease later in life, Chang says.
How to stay cool
So if you're an angry young man or woman, is there anything you can do?
"Well, you need to be aware of your response to stress, first," Chang advises. "And if you find your reaction to stress to include a high level of anger, coupled with complaining and irritability, then you need to learn how to calm down, how to get cool."
"(You) could look at behavioral modification for instance, such as anger management or stress reduction," she says. "What we do know is that studies show that if you learn to manage your anger after a heart attack, you are at lower risk for another one. What we don't know yet is if you manage your anger when you're young, whether it's clear whether that will prevent you from having coronary vascular disease.
"The American Heart Association suggests these tips to reduce stress:
- Talk with people you know, and love or trust about how you react to stressful situations.
- Take a break. Give yourself 15 to 20 minutes a day to sit quietly, breathe deeply, and think peaceful thoughts.
- You can't solve everything. First things first. Learn to accept that you can't control everything.
- Count to 10 before answering or responding when you feel angry.
- Don't use smoking, drinking, overeating, drugs or caffeine to cope with stress.
- Look for the good instead of the bad.
- Exercise regularly.
- Think ahead about what may upset you, and try to avoid it. Plan productive solutions to problems. For example, talk with your neighbor if the dog next door bothers you and set clear limits on how much you'll do for family members.
- Learn to say no. Don't promise too much. Give yourself enough time to get things done.
- Join a support group.
- Seek out a mental health professional or counselor if you can't cope on your own.
Neil Sherman
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