Overcoming Hostility

If you have experienced a cardiac event, you may feel very angry that it happened. Anger is a common reaction to having a cardiac event, but chronic negative emotions can be dangerous and can even increase the rate of subsequent heart attacks.⁴⁷ An overwhelming attitude of cynicism or distrust, a hair-trigger temper, and anger expressed by arguing, yelling or physical assault are all characteristics of someone with hostility.⁴⁸ Often these attributes are used to describe someone with a “Type A” behavior pattern, typically defined as easily angered, competitive, hostile, extremely dedicated to work and frequently trying to do too many things in too little time. Many studies link Type A behavior with the likelihood of having heart disease.²⁸

Some researchers now believe that hostility is the “toxic” component of Type A behavior. In other words, hostility is the specific behavior trait of Type A personalities that can “drive” heart disease.²⁸

When you feel yourself having a “hostile” reaction to an event, such as a “road rage” episode or extreme anger when something does not go exactly as planned, a series of biological events are set in motion that can increase your risk of a cardiac event such as a higher heart rate or blood pressure.²⁸

Numerous other studies have been conducted linking hostility to increased susceptibility to heart disease and heart attack. A study conducted at Harvard School of Public Health indicated that men who scored at the top end of the anger scale of a personality test were three times as likely to develop heart disease over a seven year period as those who scored on the low side of the anger scale.²²

In addition, hostile individuals report higher heart rates and blood pressure in response to stimulation such as mental tasks, as well as higher blood pressure levels during typical day-to-day activities.²⁸

For patients diagnosed with heart disease, some studies have indicated that people with high levels of hostility have a greater rate of having their arteries narrow after angioplasty (a surgical procedure which opens a narrowed artery with the insertion of a balloon catheter), experience quicker clogging of their arteries and show a higher tendency to have an inadequate blood supply to the heart during stress tests than do non-hostile patients with coronary artery disease.²⁸

In terms of lifestyle, people who exhibit hostility are much more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, poor eating habits and alcoholism that can impact heart health.²⁸

If you are experiencing anger or hostility, you can get professional help. The American Heart Association also suggests the following tips to help manage your anger⁴⁹:

• Keep an anger journal. Write down the people and situations that make you angry, how you react and the feelings that are behind the anger.
• Try to be understanding and put yourself in the other person’s position. Anger is often an issue of perspective.
• When things heat up, step back from the situation, take several deep breathes and calm yourself down.
• Control how you react physically. Try not to curse, sigh, speak loudly, shake your fist or point your finger.
• When you feel angry, use a three-step approach: stop, ask yourself how the situation may look from the other person’s perspective and then respond.

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