If you believe that exercising is the best way you can blow off steam when you’re angry, think again. A study in the journal ‘Circulation’ says that working out when mad at something or someone could be extra risky for your heart. In fact, it triples the risk of having a heart attack within an hour.
The study was conducted by the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where the researchers surveyed 12,461 people suffering a first heart attack in 52 countries. Their average age was 58 and three-fourths were men. They questioned the participants about their emotions and activities the hour before their heart attack symptoms began and also during the same hour on the previous day. That way researchers could compare risk at different times in the same people and the effect of these potential heart attack triggers. The participants were to answer if they were angry or upset, or had heavy exertion, in the hour before their heart attack or during the same time period the previous day.
The researchers found that being angry or upset doubled the risk of suffering heart attack symptoms within an hour. So did heavy physical exertion; and doing both at the same time more than tripled the risk for a heart attack. The risk was greatest between 6 p.m. and midnight, and was independent of other factors such as smoking, high blood pressure or obesity.
“Emotional stress and exertion can raise blood pressure and heart rate, change the flow of blood in the vessels and reduce the heart’s blood supply,” said the study leader, Dr Andrew Smyth of McMaster University. If your arteries are already clogged with plaque, the combination of exercise and emotion could easily lead you to develop a blood clot that ends up triggering a heart attack.
Researchers say that when you’re experiencing extreme emotions like anger, choose effective alternatives to exercise like Pranayam, Yogic asanas and meditation. As a rule, for your good health, practice moderation, both emotionally and physically.
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