ANGER HOSTILITY SEEM TO INCREASE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SOME STUDIES HAVE LOOKED AT RELATIONSHIP OF ANGER IMPATIENCE HYPERTENSION HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

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It seems that people who are angry and hostile have higher blood pressure. You know how people sometimes say " don't get so angry watch your blood pressure'.There have been some studies of the relationship between hostility and hypertension that have indicated that hostility and anger do seem to go with high blood pressure."Impatience and hostility, two hallmarks of the “type A” behavior pattern increase young adults’ long-term risk of developing high blood pressure. Further, the more intense the impatience and hostility behaviors, the greater the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure)".





In 2003 an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported on a study that looked at five psychological/social factors, time urgency/impatience, achievement striving/competitiveness, hostility, depression, and anxiety. The first three (impatience, competitiveness and hostility) are key components of the type A behavior pattern and were assessed at the start of the study.








Some years ago another study found that a "subgroup of individuals who score high on a scale measuring the personality trait of hostility have a different pattern of blood pressure change during sleep and the early morning hours compared to individuals who score low on this trait. The pattern of high-scoring individuals is such that sleeping blood pressure tends to be higher during sleep in general and during the early morning hours, and it tends to rise immediately before awakening.




Commenting on the 2003 study, researchers speculated that the rise in blood pressure due to psychological and social factors may be caused by a complex set of mechanisms that is not not well understood. For instance, they note that stress could activate the sympathetic nervous system, causing a series of heart and blood vessel repercussions, including narrowing of the blood vessels and an increase in blood pressure. But it is clear that if you can learn to damp down hostility and anger you are more likely to have a better blood pressure.

NHLBI Study Finds Hostility, Impatience Increase Hypertension Risk

Blood Pressure Morning Surge and Hostility