Frequent Anger Can Raise Your Risk for Heart Disease

Being angry too often can damage your blood vessels, raising your risk for heart disease, warns a new study. Researchers monitored blood vessel activity in 280 healthy adults during experiments that induced feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, and neutral emotions. The participants' ages ranged from their 20s to their early 70s, and none had a history of heart disease or any major heart risk factors.

The researchers found that being in a state of anger led to a temporary inability of the blood vessels to dilate or relax as they should, and the negative effect lasted up to 40 minutes after an angry outburst was over. These effects were not seen in people when they were anxious or sad. The lead author stated that if you experience frequent anger, you're causing chronic injuries to your blood vessels, and over time, that may eventually cause irreversible effects on vascular health and increase your risk of heart disease.

Previous studies have linked impaired blood vessel dilation to the buildup of fatty deposits, which can lead to heart attack and stroke.