Heart attack risk 'raised by suppressing anger'

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Source: BBC News - Heart attack risk 'raised by suppressing anger'

Men who do not openly express their anger if they are unfairly treated at work double their risk of a heart attack, Swedish research suggests.
The researchers looked at 2,755 male employees in Stockholm who had not had a heart attack when the study began.
They were asked about how they coped with conflict at work, either with superiors or colleagues.
The researchers say their study shows a strong relationship between pent-up anger and heart disease.
Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the researchers called the various strategies for keeping things bottled up, covert coping.
The men were asked what methods they adopted: whether they dealt with things head-on, whether they let things pass without saying anything, walked away from conflict, developed symptoms like headache or stomach ache or got into a bad temper at home.
Hospital registers
They were checked for smoking, drinking, physical activity, education, diabetes, job demands and their freedom to take decisions.
Their blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol levels were measured and they were aged 41 on average at the start of the study between 1992 and 1995.

I think men can't help how they behave in conflict situations - it's not something they think about, it's just how they react instinctively
Dr Constanze Leineweber, Stockholm University
Details of whether any of the men subsequently had a heart attack or died as a result of heart disease in the period up to 2003 were gathered from national registers of hospital treatment and deaths.
Up to 2003, 47 of the 2,755 men had a heart attack or died from heart disease.
The men who coped by sometimes or often walking away or who often let things pass without saying anything, had double the risk of a heart attack or dying from serious heart disease compared to men who challenged and dealt with the situation head-on.
Developing a headache or stomach ache or getting into a bad temper at home, did not increase the risk of heart attack or heart disease.
The researchers believe that anger can produce physiological tensions if it is not released and that these lead to increases in blood pressure which eventually damage the cardiovascular system.
'Conflict situations'
Dr Constanze Leineweber, who led the study from the Stress Research Institute in Stockholm, said: "There has been research before pointing in this direction but the surprise is that the association between pent-up anger and heart disease was such a strong one.
"I think men can't help how they behave in conflict situations - it's not something they think about, it's just how they react instinctively.
"If you are smoking and don't exercise you would be much more conscious of the risk."
Judy O'Sullivan, senior cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, said: "Stress itself is not a risk factor for heart and circulatory disease, but some people's responses to stress, such as smoking or overeating, can increase your risk.
"We all find different things stressful and symptoms of stress can vary, but the important thing is that we need to find ways of coping with it in our lives in a positive way, whether at work or home."
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This information is not "new" by any means, but is definitely worth being aware of.

It so happens that today (November 26th) is the anniversary date of my own heart attack, which occured on 11.26.1996.

My heart attack happened immediately after an incident at work that left me in a state of anger. Without going into details, I got into a conflict with a supervisor right at the end of the day. She "threatened" me with disciplinary action, but it was already quitting time. I left the workplace without incident, but was in an angry, agitated state.

I felt my first chest pains while I was walking home from work. I tried laying down for a while, but continued to feel worse. It crossed my mind that I might be having a heart attack, but I said to myself, "naw ... couldn't be."

I lay on my bed for almost 2 hours before I finally decided I need to get to a hospital, and called a taxi (I should have been calling an ambulance!).

Fortunately it was a fairly mild cardiac event, and I recovered. Of course my heart was damaged. Naturally I continue to suffer from heart disease, and finally had bypass surgery in May, 2008.

Do I blame the incident with my supervisor for "causing" my heart attack? Hell no! I had several risk factors for quite a while, including high cholesterol, etc. My cardiac event was just waiting to happen. It simply took the stress of an anger-supressing event to trigger it, that's all ...
 
CanadaDan said:
This information is not "new" by any means, but is definitely worth being aware of.

It so happens that today (November 26th) is the anniversary date of my own heart attack, which occured on 11.26.1996.

My heart attack happened immediately after an incident at work that left me in a state of anger. Without going into details, I got into a conflict with a supervisor right at the end of the day. She "threatened" me with disciplinary action, but it was already quitting time. I left the workplace without incident, but was in an angry, agitated state.

I felt my first chest pains while I was walking home from work. I tried laying down for a while, but continued to feel worse. It crossed my mind that I might be having a heart attack, but I said to myself, "naw ... couldn't be."

I lay on my bed for almost 2 hours before I finally decided I need to get to a hospital, and called a taxi (I should have been calling an ambulance!).

Fortunately it was a fairly mild cardiac event, and I recovered. Of course my heart was damaged. Naturally I continue to suffer from heart disease, and finally had bypass surgery in May, 2008.

Do I blame the incident with my supervisor for "causing" my heart attack? Hell no! I had several risk factors for quite a while, including high cholesterol, etc. My cardiac event was just waiting to happen. It simply took the stress of an anger-supressing event to trigger it, that's all ...
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I dunno. Set it to music? :dunno:
 
CanadaDan, I'm sorry that happened to you. Perhaps, it is the best for everyone to eat healthy food (no red meats or no meats) and do some regular exercise. It is scary for not knowing what's happen to us anytime. I still think that the stress is also from a boss who says mean things which is definitely not healthy.

Dr. Oz on a TV said that a normal or "friendly" stress is good for you because it builds up your body strength and your mind. I believe that he is right.
 
CanadaDan said:
This information is not "new" by any means, but is definitely worth being aware of.

It so happens that today (November 26th) is the anniversary date of my own heart attack, which occured on 11.26.1996.

My heart attack happened immediately after an incident at work that left me in a state of anger. Without going into details, I got into a conflict with a supervisor right at the end of the day. She "threatened" me with disciplinary action, but it was already quitting time. I left the workplace without incident, but was in an angry, agitated state.

I felt my first chest pains while I was walking home from work. I tried laying down for a while, but continued to feel worse. It crossed my mind that I might be having a heart attack, but I said to myself, "naw ... couldn't be."

I lay on my bed for almost 2 hours before I finally decided I need to get to a hospital, and called a taxi (I should have been calling an ambulance!).

Fortunately it was a fairly mild cardiac event, and I recovered. Of course my heart was damaged. Naturally I continue to suffer from heart disease, and finally had bypass surgery in May, 2008.

Do I blame the incident with my supervisor for "causing" my heart attack? Hell no! I had several risk factors for quite a while, including high cholesterol, etc. My cardiac event was just waiting to happen. It simply took the stress of an anger-supressing event to trigger it, that's all ...
Click to expand...

Man...sorry to hear that. Do you have hobbies that helps you relax? Exercise? Meditation? Play a musical instrument nowadays? For me, playing the piano is a great way for me to relax. I do this daily.
 
My stress level gets overwhelming sometimes....but I take deep breaths...flip everything side.....take a brisk walk if possible.....even go back to bed! Playing solitaire.....just telling everyone to "leave me alone for awhile"....Even taking my dog for a walk really helps. A good "cry" helps too, no matter if ur a male or a female....

My heart rate/blood pressure is excellent. Being selfish about ur health is imperative to ur well-being.....avoid people/things that will stress you to the max. Laughter is the bed medicine....find something to laugh about, even ifs urself (I do it often).
 
CanadaDan said:
It so happens that today (November 26th) is the anniversary date of my own heart attack, which occured on 11.26.1996.

I felt my first chest pains while I was walking home from work. I tried laying down for a while, but continued to feel worse. It crossed my mind that I might be having a heart attack, but I said to myself, "naw ... couldn't be."

Do I blame the incident with my supervisor for "causing" my heart attack? Hell no! I had several risk factors for quite a while, including high cholesterol, etc. My cardiac event was just waiting to happen. It simply took the stress of an anger-supressing event to trigger it, that's all ...
Click to expand...

I totally agree with your assessment - it's not like stress itself causes heart disease but rather acts as a trigger - when your arteries are clogged, stress can constrict your vessels and can cause clogged vessels leading to a heart attack. Heart disease is a very common disease, affecting half of Americans eventually. I have "borderline" high cholesterol although my HDL is higher than the norm so doctors doubt it represent any measurable risk. They said despite the overall high cholesterol, my HDL:LDL is actually optimal. My diet is rich in olive oil and walnut oil and I drink moderately which may explain my high HDL rate.

I am glad you are doing well despite having it at least ten years ago.
 
netrox said:
I totally agree with your assessment - it's not like stress itself causes heart disease but rather acts as a trigger - when your arteries are clogged, stress can constrict your vessels and can cause clogged vessels leading to a heart attack. Heart disease is a very common disease, affecting half of Americans eventually. I have "borderline" high cholesterol although my HDL is higher than the norm so doctors doubt it represent any measurable risk. They said despite the overall high cholesterol, my HDL:LDL is actually optimal. My diet is rich in olive oil and walnut oil and I drink moderately which may explain my high HDL rate.

I am glad you are doing well despite having it at least ten years ago.
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Absolutely. Also, the elevated cortisol levels in the bloodstream that occur as a result of stress can create damage to the heart and many other organs.
 
I am afraid that my husband will be a heart attack victim while young because he smokes and eats so much junk food with little exercise. Also, he endures stress from his 2 hour commute to work and then two hours back from work. I keep pushing him to quit, eat better and exercise more but he gets mad at me for nagging at him. ugh..
 
Smoking is bad. It gets on your clothes. In your hair. Permeates the house. The car. It can damage your lungs, reduces the efficiency of how your body works, and so on. It's nothing more than a cancer stick. Even if one quits later on in life it may not be enough or in time to help the lungs to heal itself and wind up getting partial emphysema. Breathing through a straw doesn't sound fun to me.
 
Is that supposed to be news?:lol: I doubt you will find anyone that hasn't heard that many, many times over the past 25+ years.
 
kokonut said:
Smoking is bad. It gets on your clothes. In your hair. Permeates the house. The car. It can damage your lungs, reduces the efficiency of how your body works, and so on. It's nothing more than a cancer stick. Even if one quits later on in life it may not be enough or in time to help the lungs to heal itself and wind up getting partial emphysema. Breathing through a straw doesn't sound fun to me.
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That's why my hubby is the smoker, not me.
 
Who knows what will happen now? My job is horrible for 9 years and sheer agony the last 2. Stress is bad. Panic attacks. I am so stressed from work, I go home, chuck ha's and retreat to psp until hubby wakes up. He TV addict, no conversation or much interaction, so off to AD. Happy time! Ugh, then sleep and back to work.
It could be worse. I am not conservative... lol
 
souggy said:
He's just reminding everyone. That's all. I means who know... the panel might revoke the warning.
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Problem with that strategy is, nicotine is an addiction. One cannot change the addictive behavior simply with warnings and cautions to cease and desist the behavior.
 
LDNanna said:
Who knows what will happen now? My job is horrible for 9 years and sheer agony the last 2. Stress is bad. Panic attacks. I am so stressed from work, I go home, chuck ha's and retreat to psp until hubby wakes up. He TV addict, no conversation or much interaction, so off to AD. Happy time! Ugh, then sleep and back to work.
It could be worse. I am not conservative... lol
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:bowlol:

A lot of truth in that, LDNanna.
 
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