How We Express Anger Could Affect Our Heart Health, Study Finds

Studies have long linked the expression of anger to negative health phenomena like increased blood pressure. Some new research explains how not controlling your fury can have a harmful impact on your heart. 

The new study, published in the Physiology & Behavior journal, set out to find any association between anger expression and cardiovascular activity as well as if different styles of anger expression can affect cardiovascular reactivity differently. To do this, the team examined 669 participants in a cardiovascular reactivity test and recorded their systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate throughout. The scientists looked at various anger expression styles including anger-in, anger-out, and anger control. 

"Anger personality types have been consistently associated with adverse cardiovascular health outcomes, with atypical stress responses acting as a key pathway leading to disease," study author Adam O'Riordan told PsyPost. "We were particularly interested in identifying whether the way individuals express their anger was also an important factor in understanding this relationship."

In the end, they found that "anger temperament was significantly associated with blunted cardiovascular reactivity, as well as increased levels of subjective stress," the study read. Not only that, but "the association between anger temperament and cardiovascular reactivity was significantly moderated by anger-in, with associations observed only amongst those who reported an increased tendency to suppress their anger."

Trying to keep your emotions under control as best as possible, then, could be the key to preventing negative cardiovascular outcomes down the road. 

"The key findings from this study suggest that while individuals vary in terms of how they experience anger, it is extremely important to consider how these individuals express their anger," O'Riordan said. "In particular, the adverse effect of high anger temperament on stress physiology appears to be heightened amongst individuals who suppress this anger."

It might be easier said than done, but if you find yourself getting worked up, try to breathe deep and keep your rage under control.