Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that recurring anger may reduce blood vessels’ ability to open, potentially increasing the risk of heart disease. This vascular impairment is a known precursor to damage that can lead to heart attacks and strokes, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The research is noted as the first to link anger directly to such vascular changes in healthy adults, helping explain how chronic anger affects cardiac health.
The clinical trial involved 280 healthy adults aged 18 to 73 from the New York City area who did not have cardiovascular disease or common risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, or lipid imbalances. Participants were non-smokers, medication-free, and without diagnosed mood disorders. Researchers measured blood flow changes in each participant’s dominant arm before and after emotional stimuli in a controlled setting.
Participants were randomly assigned to experience anger, anxiety, sadness, or a neutral emotional state for eight minutes. Those in the anger and anxiety groups discussed personal experiences; the sadness group read statements designed to evoke sadness; the neutral group counted numbers aloud. Blood vessel function was measured immediately after to assess changes.
According to study leader Daichi Shimbo, M.D., chronic anger may cause repeated injuries to blood vessels, leading to irreversible effects on vascular health and increased heart disease risk over time. Laurie Friedman Donze, Ph.D., from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, noted the findings support promoting anger management interventions to help reduce heart disease risk.