愤怒在心脏病发作风险中的作用可能始于动脉
劳拉·威廉姆森，美国心脏协会线上电子游戏飞禽走兽
Short bursts of anger may temporarily damage the ability of blood vessels to properly dilate, a function believed to be pivotal in preventing arteries from hardening, 新的研究表明.
研究结果周三发表在《线上娱乐电子游戏网站》杂志上 美国心脏协会杂志, may help explain how anger contributes to the risk of having a heart attack.
"Anger is bad for your blood vessel function," said lead study author Dr. Daichi Shimbo, a cardiologist and co-director of the hypertension center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. "It impairs the function of your arteries, which is linked to future heart attack risk."
Previous observational studies have established a clear link between 负面情绪 – including anger, anxiety and sadness – and an increased risk for heart attacks and strokes. But little is known about how these emotions trigger changes in the body that lead to cardiovascular events.
在新的研究中, 280 apparently healthy young adults with no history of heart disease or stroke, 相关的危险因素, serious mental health conditions or other chronic illnesses were recruited from the community surrounding Columbia's medical center.
在实验室环境中, 参与者被要求放松30分钟, 然后测量血压和心率, along with tests to measure endothelial cell health – the health of the inner cellular lining of blood vessels. Endothelial dysfunction has been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis, 或者动脉硬化, 哪些会导致心脏病发作和中风.
先前的研究表明，精神压力会损害内皮功能. Researchers in the new study explored how well blood vessels were able to dilate, whether endothelial cells lining the blood vessels were damaged and whether they were able to repair themselves following acute, 负面情绪.
After baseline measurements were taken, individuals were randomly assigned to one of four tasks. Over an eight-minute period, one group was asked to recall personal memories aloud that evoked anger. 另一组被要求大声回忆引起焦虑的记忆. 三分之一的人被要求大声朗读引起悲伤的句子, and the final group was asked to count aloud to remain in an emotionally neutral condition. 这些任务之后是第二个安静的休息线上电子游戏飞禽走兽.
Blood pressure and endothelial health measurements were taken again at three, 40, 在人们完成任务后的70和100分钟.
与情绪中立的一组相比, people who recalled memories that provoked anger saw a diminished ability of their blood vessels to dilate, 哪个减少了一半以上. This effect peaked 40 minutes after the anger-recall task and then function returned to normal.
虽然效果是暂时的, Shimbo said it's important to note that it resulted from just eight minutes of recalling angry feelings, raising questions about the cumulative impact of anger on blood vessel function over a longer period of time.
“我们表明，如果你生气一次, 它会损害你的扩张能力," said Shimbo, 他也是哥伦比亚大学的医学教授. “但如果你一生中生气一万次呢? This chronic insult to your arteries eventually may lead to permanent damage. 这就是我们认为发生的事情."
引起焦虑和悲伤, however, 没有统计学上显著的影响吗, Shimbo说这个结果让他很惊讶.
“人们把负面情绪归为一类，”他说. “这告诉我，也许是愤怒, anxiety and sadness are different from each other in how they affect heart risk."
Dr. 苏珊娜·阿诺德, a cardiologist at Saint Luke's Health System and a professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, said the findings shed light on why bursts of anger may lead to cardiovascular disease.
"This is interesting because it helps to explain something we've seen over and over again," she said. "There's plenty of data that have shown acute anger increases the risk for heart attacks, 但是发生这种情况的机制还没有被真正理解."
Arnold, 谁没有参与这项研究, noted the study was limited to young adults with no cardiovascular disease or risk factors and suggested the next step may be to expand the study population.
"What does this look like in people who are older and have cardiovascular disease already?" she asked. “你可能会看到更深远的影响."