Focuses on a study regarding the connection between hostility and
heart disease, conducted by psychology professor Barbara Frederickson.
Observation on the blood pressure of hostile respondents; Damages
incurred on the arterial walls due to hyperactivity.
By
W. Eric Martin, published on November 01, 2000
ANGER
It seems some people really do get "steaming mad"--and they stay
heated up longer than those with cooler tempers, possibly hurting their
hearts.
A new study, led by Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., a psychology
professor at the University. of Michigan Emotion Lab, may help explain
the apparent link between hostility and heart disease. She interviewed
subjects to determine their hostility levels, and then had them describe
an event that made them "so angry you wanted to explode." After allowing
the participants to calm down, researchers asked them to relive that same
experience while monitoring their blood pressure.
In addition to showing a greater increase in blood pressure, highly
hostile participants took nearly twice as long as those who were Jess
angry to return to their normal blood pressure. And black
participants--regardless of their hostility levels--kept higher blood
pressure levels more than twice as long as whites.
Since previous research suggests that hyperreactivity can injure
arterial walls and initiate arterial hardening, "[these] findings cast
new light on the purported link between hostility and heart disease," the
researchers write. To shorten hot-blooded reactions, they suggest turning
to distractions that evoke positive emotions, like listening to soothing
music or reading a lighthearted novel.
ILLUSTRATION (COLOR)
Tags:
anger,
arterial walls,
barbara fredrickson,
blood pressure levels,
heart disease,
hearts,
hostility,
hostility levels,
jess,
normal blood pressure,
novel illustration,
participants,
physical health,
previous research,
psychology professor,
soothing music,
temper,
tempers,
university of michigan
