Image copyright Peter Bowater/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY 
 
 Having a hot temper may increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke, according to researchers. 
 
 Rage often precedes an attack and may be the trigger, say the US researchers who trawled medical literature. 
 
 They identified a dangerous period of about two hours following an outburst when people were at heightened risk. 
 
 But they say more work is needed to understand the link and find out if stress-busting strategies could avoid such complications. 
 
 It's not clear what causes this effect. It may be linked to the physiological changes that anger causes to our bodies, but more research is needed to explore the biology behind this Doireann Maddock, British Heart Foundation 
 
 People who have existing risk factors, such as a history of heart disease, are particularly susceptible, they told the European Heart Journal. 
 
 In the two hours immediately after an angry outburst, risk of a heart attack increased nearly five-fold and risk of stroke increased more than three-fold, the data from nine studies and involving thousands of people suggests. 
 
 The Harvard School of Public Health researchers say, at a population level, the risk with a single outburst of anger is relatively low - one extra heart attack per 10,000 people per year could be expected among people with low cardiovascular risk who were angry only once a month, increasing to an extra four per 10,000 people with a high cardiovascular risk. 
 
 But the risk is cumulative, meaning temper-prone individuals will be at higher risk still. 
 
 Five episodes of anger a day would result in around 158 extra heart attacks per 10,000 people with a low cardiovascular risk per year, increasing to about 657 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among those with a high cardiovascular risk, Dr Elizabeth Mostofsky and colleagues calculate. 
 
 Preventing problems Image copyright SPL Eat healthily 
 
 Exercise regularly 
 
 Keep a healthy weight 
 
 Give up smoking 
 
 Don't drink too much alcohol 
 
 Take medications prescribed for you 
 
 Dr Mostofsky said: "Although the risk of experiencing an acute cardiovascular event with any single outburst of anger is relatively low, the risk can accumulate for people with frequent episodes of anger." 
 
 It's unclear why anger might be dangerous - the researchers point out that their results do not necessarily indicate that anger causes heart and circulatory problems. 
 
 Experts know that chronic stress can contribute to heart disease, partly because it can raise blood pressure but also because people may deal with stress in unhealthy ways - by smoking or drinking too much alcohol, for example. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dr Elizabeth Mostofsky: "Anger outbursts" increase heart attack risk 
 
 The researchers say it is worth testing what protection stress-busting strategies, such as yoga, might offer. 
 
 Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "It's not clear what causes this effect. It may be linked to the physiological changes that anger causes to our bodies, but more research is needed to explore the biology behind this. 
 
 "The way you cope with anger and stress is also important. Learning how to relax can help you move on from high-pressure situations. Many people find that physical activity can help to let off steam after a stressful day. 
 
 "If you think you are experiencing harmful levels of stress or frequent anger outbursts talk to your GP." 

 Not controlling your anger could be harming your heart. 
 
 Angry outbursts might trigger heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems within two hours of the event, according to new research from Harvard. 
 
 Researchers found in the two hours after an angry outburst, a person's risk for a heart attack increased nearly five times and their risk of stroke shot up more than three times, compared to when patients were not angry. Risk for arrhythmia, or irregular heart rhythm, was also increased. 
 
 People who were already at risk for heart problems -- such as those with diabetes or previously had a heart attack -- and those who were frequently angry were most at risk. 
 
 "Although the risk of experiencing an acute cardiovascular event with any single outburst of anger is relatively low, the risk can accumulate for people with frequent episodes of anger," study author Dr Elizabeth Mostofsky, an instructor in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, warned in a statement. 
 
 Her team reviewed studies on anger and cardiovascular problems conducted between 1966 and 2013, pooling together the data for analysis. They identified more than 4,500 cases of heart attack, 462 cases of acute coronary syndrome (blocked arteries, which could also lead to a heart attack), 590 case of ischemic stroke (clot that blocks blood to the brain), 215 cases of hemorrhagic stroke (a burst blood vessel, or brain bleed), and 306 cases of arrhythmia. 
 
 The researchers calculated one extra heart attack per 10,000 people per year could be expected among those who were angry only once a month and were at low risk for heart problems. It increased to an extra four per 10,000 people among those at high cardiovascular risk. 
 
 For people who were frequently angry -- like five times per day -- the outbursts would result in about 158 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among people with low cardiovascular risk, rising to around 657 extra heart attacks per 10,000 among those already at high risk for heart woes. 
 
 The study didn't look specifically at why anger triggered heart problems, but the researchers pointed out that anger increases heart rate, blood pressure and vascular resistance (the force that opposes blood flow). These changes in blood flow may lead to clots or trigger an inflammatory cascade that leads to heart problems. 
 
 They added that doctors should ask their patients whether they have anger problems, and possibly suggest therapy or medications to prevent cardiovascular health woes. Maybe a statin or beta-blocker might stave off future heart issues in those who are angry, but more research is needed to determine what medications might help. 
 
 The study was published March 3 in the European Heart Journal. 
 
 In an editorial published in the same issue, researchers at the University of Missouri and University of Michigan who were not involved in the study said the results were not surprising, given the physiologic effects chronic anger has on people. 
 
 "The remaining question in all of these studies, however, is how to prevent these dangerous anger episodes," they wrote.
– Angry? You may want to calm down, or you could put yourself at higher risk of a heart attack or stroke, a new study finds. Researchers found that there's a two-hour "danger zone" following an outburst of rage during which people are nearly five times more likely to have a heart attack and more than three times more likely to have a stroke, the BBC reports. Risk of an irregular heartbeat also increased, CBS News reports. And the risk is cumulative—so the more often you lose your temper, the higher your risk may be. It's not clear why anger might be a trigger for heart attacks and strokes (the study did not actually establish cause and effect), though experts know that chronic stress can contribute to heart disease. "Anger causes our heart rate to increase through the sympathetic nervous system and causes our stress hormones to become elevated (the fight or flight mechanism)," says one expert, according to CNN. "We breathe faster, all of which may trigger undesirable reactions in our blood pressure or in our arteries," such as the heart or brain not getting the blood and oxygen they need.