Daily HealthBeat Tip

Risky anger

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Some people with potentially fatal erratic heartbeats may be open to more risk when they get angry. Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital found this in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators. These devices shock the heart into a correct beat when the beat becomes badly irregular.

Dr. Christine Albert checked the shocks against patients’ reports of anger. She reported the study, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health, at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2006.

Albert says patients were more likely to need a shock after being angry:

"It was about threefold increased risk with moderate anger. But that was increased to a 17-fold increased risk if they were very angry." (seven seconds)

Albert says these patients might benefit from learning ways to manage anger.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 13, 2006

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