Who has never had a tantrum in their life? Stressful situations can make us furious, but this explosion of nerves can temporarily compromise heart health, which is related to an increased risk of a heart attack (heart attack) or stroke, also popularly known as like spill. As far as we know, the effects are temporary.
Photo: Usman Yousaf/Unsplash / Canaltech
The impact of tantrums on cardiovascular disease was measured by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Missouri, both in the United States, during an observational study.
In the analyses, only the effects of brief rage attacks, lasting 8 minutes, in healthy people were considered. It is not yet known whether the impact of longer periods of anger or whether temporary complications are greater in individuals with comorbidities.
Relationship between rabies, heart attack and stroke
Until then, science didn’t even understand exactly how anger could complicate heart health. “There is a lot of data that shows that acute rabies increases the risk of heart attacks, but the mechanism by which this happens was not really understood”, comments Suzanne Arnold, cardiologist and researcher at the University of Missouri, in a note.
Study finds how anger is harmful to the heart and increases the risk of diseases, including heart attack and stroke (Image: Alexstand/Envato)
Photo: Canaltech
To understand better: “rabies is harmful to the functioning of blood vessels”, says Daichi Shimbo, a cardiologist and scientist at Columbia University. “This impairs the function of the arteries, which is linked to future heart attack risk,” he adds.
In more detail, rage attacks temporarily impair the ability of blood vessels to dilate. With the hardening of the arteries — a condition that affects endothelial tissue, known as atherosclerosis —, the risk of a heart attack or even stroke increases.
Risk of tantrums
Published in the magazine Journal of the American Heart Associationthe study involved analyzing the effects of different feelings on the body in 280 healthy adults, with no history of heart disease.
In the experiment, all recruits underwent a 30-minute relaxation session. Next, medical data was collected, such as blood pressure, heart rate and assessment of the condition of the endothelial cells — those that line the blood vessels.
After this first stage, participants were randomly divided into four groups. Each group was encouraged to experience a feeling, such as anger, anxiety and sadness, in addition to the control group (which remained emotionally neutral). In the case of anger, it was necessary to recall out loud memories in which they were furious for 8 minutes.
After this session, medical data was again collected at four time intervals: 3 minutes after the experiment, 40 minutes, 70 minutes, and 100 minutes.
According to the researchers, participants who experienced anger had a decrease in the dilation capacity of their blood vessels by more than half compared to those who did not experience any emotion (neutral). In fact, the peak of the problem was recorded 40 minutes after the tantrum.
As this increases the risk of a heart attack, even if temporarily and in a moderate way, the recommendation is to learn ways to deal with anger on a daily basis. Possible measures include the inclusion of regular physical activities and seeking psychological support in therapy sessions, in more critical cases.
Unlike anger, feelings of sadness and anxiety did not cause physiological changes in the arteries. In other words, no risks associated with heart problems have been identified.
Source: Journal of the American Heart Association and AHA
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