Anger link to heart disease after menopause
A team from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine says that the
two forms of distress are associated with impaired artery function in this
group.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) provides some artery protection for women
with high levels of anger and what is known as type A behavior –
competitive, impatient and aggressive feelings – say the researchers in the
journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
However, they say that HRT does not protect women in the same way if they
suffer from anxiety and depression.
The researchers say their findings are the first that link these particular
psychological traits to impaired artery function in healthy women.
They reached their conclusions after looking at 193 women, who received
psychological evaluations before and after menopause, and examination of a
major arm artery when they were postmenopausal.
Dr Kelly Harris and colleagues made their assessments by using ultrasound
imaging to see how well the artery dilated in response to a stimulus.
Women who had high levels of anger and type A behavior, and/or high levels of
anxiety and depression, had the lowest amount of artery dilation, they found.
The association was the same whether the traits were measured before or after
the menopause, although the women who took HRT when they were postmenopausal
were protected from the effects of anger and aggression, the researchers said.
“Trait anxiety may be a more ‘toxic’ characteristic in relation to
[artery] function than the other psychosocial traits and could therefore be
more resistant to protective factors, such as hormone replacement therapy,”
says Dr Harris.
The researchers add that in premenopausal women, estrogen and other
circulating hormones help blood vessels maintain their function. This may
explain why HRT provides some artery protection in healthy postmenopausal
women, they say.
Source: Psychosomatic Medicine
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