Anger is one of those intense emotions — and it’s no secret that it just doesn’t feel good. Whether it’s a sudden flash of road rage or blowing up at a co-worker or family member, anger can be hard to control. However, did you know that angry outbursts may be damaging your heart and blood vessel health?
According to researchers from Columbia University, experiencing an intense moment of anger actually causes temporary damage to the lining of your blood vessels, known as the endothelium.
To understand why the endothelium is so important, we first need to explore what it is and what role it plays. The endothelium is the inner lining of all of your blood vessels, including the arteries, veins, and tiny capillaries. It acts as a gatekeeper, helping to regulate things like:
- Blood clotting
- Plaque buildup
- Inflammation levels
- Vessel relaxation and constriction
A healthy, properly functioning endothelium helps keep your vessels flexible and smooth, allowing blood to flow freely. If the endothelium suffers damage, however, it can set the stage for plaque buildup, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), clots, inflammation, and other problems that increase heart disease risk.
During the new study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers took 280 healthy young adults without any heart disease risk factors and randomly assigned them to different groups. One group did an eight-minute “anger recall” task where they had to vividly relive and describe a memory that had provoked intense anger. The other groups did similar tasks to provoke anxiety, sadness, or neutral emotions.
Before and at several points after the tasks, the researchers measured each participant’s endothelial function using a test that measures how well the blood vessels can relax and allow increased blood flow (a marker of healthy endothelial cells). They also measured levels of cell debris and endothelial repair cells circulating in the blood, which reveal if damage or healing is occurring.
Source : https://studyfinds.org/scientists-discover-how-much-damage-angry-outbursts-do-to-your-heart