Anger and negative emotions put you at risk for cardiovascular diseases and events.

Negative emotions are generally considered unhealthy, but anger seems to be particularly harmful. This is the observation of a group of American researchers who explain that short episodes of anger can change the functioning of blood vessels. The anomaly itself is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

There are many situations that can cause us to see the color red, be it at work, in transport, in our relationships or, more generally, in our personal lives. But beyond the stress and anxiety that such angry episodes can cause, could they also be detrimental to your overall health?

Yes, answers today the science that worked on this topic. The American researchers were more specifically interested in the effects of certain negative emotions, including anger, sadness and anxiety, on blood vessel function, compared to what we might call neutral emotions. All of them were aimed at determining whether these specific feelings could in the endplay a role in some cardiovascular diseases.

Anger, sadness, anxiety, what is the most negative emotional state?

For the purposes of this work, the scientists randomly exposed 280 adults to what they called ” emotional task “, for eight minutes. Each of the participants could have encountered either a personal memory that made them angry, or a personal memory associated with anxiety, or reading a series of depressive sentences associated with sadness, or listing numbers and numbers up to 100, in the latter case a neutral emotion. which the researchers expected. The scientists also analyzed the cells lining the participants’ blood vessels before and after performing these specific tasks – for 0 minutes, then 3 minutes, then 40 minutes, 70 minutes and 100 minutes.

Published in Journal of the American Heart Associationthe findings of this work highlight the change dilation of blood vesselsdilation of blood vessels associated with memories that triggered episodes of anger. And this is from 0 to 40 minutes after” emotional task completed “Additionally, the abnormality in question no longer appeared. And this change led to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Note that memories or actions associated with anxiety and sadness did not have the same effect.

” We have found that inducing anger leads to blood vessel dysfunction, although we do not yet understand what may be causing these changes. “, confirms Daichi Shimbo, cardiologistcardiologist and professor of medicine at ColombiaColombia University Irving Medical Centerin New York, in a press release.

Stroke is bad for the health of our arteries

This is not the first time that researchers have made a connection between discomfort or negative emotions and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and events. A study published just a year ago in the journal European Journal of Preventive CardiologyThe study, using data from more than 6.5 million people aged 20 to 39, found that people with mental health conditions, regardless of their nature, had a greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke, about 58%. and 42% respectively compared to other participants. More recently, American researchers have shown thatairair pollution can cause stress and, as a result, increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

” This study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that mental well-being can influence cardiovascular health and that acute and intense emotional states, such as anger or stress, can lead to cardiovascular disease. ” says Glenn Levine, president of the editorial committee of the scientific declaration, chief clinician and professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicinein Houston.

And add: ” We know, for example, that intense sadness or similar emotions are a common trigger for Tako-tsubo cardiomyopathy and that events such as earthquakeearthquake or even watching a football match as a fan, which causes stress, can lead to myocardial infarctionmyocardial infarction and/or to arrhythmiasarrhythmias “.

One of the researchers’ next challenges will be to determine the mechanisms by which these emotional states, including anger, significantly influence the cardiovascular health of men and women around the world.