Anger and High Blood Pressure: How Emotions Affect Your Blood Vessel Health

Wut und -rger wirken sich direkt aufs Endothel aus

A study by the American Heart Association looked at how anger and other negative emotions affect the health of our blood vessels. In particular, it showed that anger and rage can significantly impair the function of the endothelium, the inner cell layer of our blood vessels. This has a direct impact on blood pressure.

Study overview

The study divided 280 healthy adults into four groups: anger, anxiety, sadness, and a neutral control group. Each group completed an eight-minute emotion-recall exercise to provoke the target emotion. Afterwards, various markers of endothelial health were measured.

The results showed that anger significantly reduced the ability of blood vessels to widen. This reduced widening ability, known as endothelium-dependent vasodilation, leads to higher blood pressure. In contrast, anxiety and sadness had no significant effects on endothelial health.

What is the endothelium and why is it important?

The endothelium is a thin layer of cells that lines the inside of our blood vessels. It plays a key role in regulating blood pressure by controlling the production of nitric oxide (NO). NO is a molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels, lowering blood pressure. When the endothelium doesn't work properly as can happen with anger less NO is produced, which causes blood vessels to narrow and blood pressure to rise.

Why this matters

These findings are especially relevant for people with high blood pressure. Anger and rage can have immediate effects on blood vessel health and raise blood pressure. That's why it's important to develop stress-management strategies and learn to manage negative emotions to protect long-term blood vessel health and keep your blood pressure under control.

Conclusion

The study clearly shows that emotional factors like anger not just physical ones can significantly affect our blood vessel health and blood pressure. Mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and other stress-management methods can help reduce the negative effects of anger on the cardiovascular system. Talk with your doctor about appropriate steps to balance your emotional and physical health.

Source:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.123.032698

This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands monitor their blood pressure every day. Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based data and is continuously updated (as of 07/2024).

Author Horst Klier has been intensively involved with high blood pressure since 2002 initially from personal experience and, since 2009, as the developer of BloodPressureDB. Thanks to his app and specialist platform used by millions as well as numerous publications, he is now regarded as a recognised blood pressure expert. As the author of several health guides and professional articles, he makes complex information understandable and practical.