Study shows anger affects heart

Study shows anger affects heart
(May 2009 Issue)

By Elinor Nelson

People with heart disease are often told to try to stay calm, but now there's even more reason to make that effort. A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology appears to show a link between how the heart handles anger and who's at risk for irregular heartbeat. In already vulnerable people, the study demonstrated that anger caused electrical changes in the heart, which could cause life-threatening arrhythmias.

The researchers gave EKG's to 62 subjects who had all had defibrillators implanted because of pre-existing heart disease. The subjects were then asked to recount an experience that had made them angry. Some of the subjects experienced EKG alterations that were similar to the irregular heartbeat-predicting alterations sometimes seen during treadmill testing, although there was no rise in the heart rate. Study authors led by Yale University cardiologist Rachel Lampert, M.D., concluded that emotional stress, like physical stress, can produce a red flag, and may contribute to cardiac arrest.

At least with this small sample of people who have documented heart problems, study authors concluded that people whose EKG's showed a big anger spike were 10 times more likely to have their defibrillators deliver a lifesaving shock in the next three years than similarly ill heart patients who did not show the heart/anger response.

Karen Jacob, Ph.D, McLean Hospital's director of clinical service at the Gunderson Residence, an inpatient facility for women with borderline personality disorder, deals with anger management issues often in her practice and was not surprised by the study's findings. "Anger can also affect stress, hypertension and irritable bowel syndrome," she says, "and from a psychological perspective, it's critical to learn how to have an awareness of anger and how to manage it."

For each person, says Jacob, anger may be expressed differently. For example, some may "blow up," while others, especially men, may get depressed - which may be thought of as "anger turned inward." People raised in homes where anger was not acceptable may not have learned effective ways to manage anger, and may then "express it in forms not typical or extreme."

Jacob works with her patients on managing their anger. Effective techniques include taking "time out" and counting to 10. They also seek to identify triggers that are unique to each person. Triggers may be "internal or external," from facing another aggressive driver to fear of abandonment following a fight with a partner.

Relaxation strategies are also helpful to manage anger, Jacob adds, and she suggests helping patients learn to notice a stressful experience without reacting to it. It's best, Jacob says, "to figure out the warning signs [of anger] so that they can intervene as quickly as possible."