I was doing some research on strokes because of a very dear friend who suffered one recently, and the following from something called the Wright Newsletter seemed interesting, in that it mentions some degree of correlation between intense anger and negative emotion and risk of strokes:
Reducing Your Risk for Stroke
Anger Management
We know a lot about what puts us at risk for a stroke. We discussed HRT the other day, but there's also high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity to consider when evaluating your risk.
Now, we even know more about what triggers strokes -- particularly ischemic strokes, which result from a blood clot.
A new study reveals that 30 percent of stroke victims report experiencing either intense anger or negative emotion within two hours of their stroke.
It's interesting to note that this study also tested to see if experiencing strong positive emotions brought on strokes, and the answer is no. So it isn't that we need to avoid strong emotions -- just strong negative emotions.
We've seen other studies that try to measure the impact of emotions and attitude on health. Last year, we told you about another a study that showed pessimistic people are more likely to have heart disease than optimistic people (1/26/04 e-Tip, subject line: Half full). The stroke trigger study shows, however, that even an optimistic person can have a sudden turn of anger and their usual sunny disposition will not prevent the stroke.
When you become angry, the body experiences the ancient fight-or-flight response. Your blood pressure shoots up, at least temporarily, and the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released and flood the body. Your heart rate increases, your muscles become tense, your digestive processes come to a halt, and certain parts of your brain are triggered, altering your brain chemistry. It's not exactly a surprise that, if you have a blood clot developing, this kind of physical response would be enough to put it into action and cause you to have a stroke.
For those of us who live life with a full range of expression, including anger, this study is a bit frightening. Of course, anger is a natural part of life, and it is impossible (even unhealthy) to attempt to never feel or acknowledge your anger. A better, more realistic course of action is to find healthy outlets for releasing anger, or even channeling your anger in healthier, more positive ways.
Some find that exercise helps to release anger, while yoga and meditation train the body to instantly relax and get grounded, and prepare to address the emotion more productively.
The two-hour time frame reported by the stroke victims was of particular interest to researchers. It could mean that if you can find a way to relax and short-circuit a sudden and extreme physical response to something that makes you angry, the event won't become a trigger, and you can go back later and deal with your emotions in more manageable doses at a later time.