How getting mad can wind up killing you

It’s something we’ve all been told a thousand times – before you lose your temper, count to 10.

But when you blow your fuse, the danger lasts a lot longer than a few seconds – especially if you have a history of heart trouble.

According to a survey of more than 300 heart attack victims at a hospital in Sydney, Australia, feelings of intense anger can make you 8.5 times more likely to suffer a heart attack for up to two hours afterwards.

And a recent review of nine previous studies involving 6,400 patients also linked acute anger to a higher rate of strokes, heart attacks and arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, within the same time frame.

Especially at risk are people with existing heart problems, according to a leader of that review.

If you want to protect your heart, it’s important to keep your temper in check. Anger management specialist Joe Pereira suggests several ways of doing that.

One is to give people the benefit of the doubt. “Someone may say something to you and the impact may be hurtful. But that isn’t necessarily their intent,” he reminds us. He also advises us to have less rigid expectations of others.

Experts also recommend taking a “time out,” to try and resolve problems, instead of just complaining about them and getting flustered.

There are also calming supplements like L-theanine that can help keep you on an even keel.

The important thing to remember is that anger can end up doing a lot more damage to you than it does to anyone it’s directed at. Turns out living well and happy isn’t just the best revenge – it’s the healthiest.

Source:

“Angry outbursts really do hurt your health, doctors find” Jeanne Whalen, March 23, 2015, The Wall Street Journal, wsj.com