Key TakeawaysEven short periods of anger can impair blood vessel function for up to 40 minutes, according to a new study.A meta-analysis suggests that arousal-increasing activities, such as yelling or running, aren’t effective at reducing anger.Deep breathing exercises may help slow down your heart rate and cool off during moments of anger.

Key Takeaways

Even short periods of anger can impair blood vessel function for up to 40 minutes, according to a new study.A meta-analysis suggests that arousal-increasing activities, such as yelling or running, aren’t effective at reducing anger.Deep breathing exercises may help slow down your heart rate and cool off during moments of anger.

Anger can make you feel heated in the moment, but also continues to affect your health even after you’ve cooled off.

Thisintense emotionhas been associatedwith inflammation, digestive issues, anda higher risk of heart attacks.Evenbrief periods of anger can harm blood vessels for up to 40 minutes, according to a new study published in theJournal of the American Heart Association.

The research team randomized 280 healthy adult participants into study groups to observe the effects of anger, anxiety, and sadness on blood vessel health. Anger was the only emotion found to significantly impair blood vessel function.

“If you induce anger compared to the neutral condition, you can actually impair the ability of a blood vessel to dilate,” saidDaichi Shimbo, MD, a board-certified cardiologist, professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and lead author of the study.

As anger sets in, your body becomes physiologically aroused and prepares to fight. Your adrenal glands pump out hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which elevates your heart rate and blood pressure.Blood flow shifts away from non-essential systems like digestion and moves towards your muscles, priming your body for physical responses.

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This increased blood flow and hormonal surge can raise your body temperature and cause you to sweat. Normally, your blood vessels expand and constrict to regulate blood flow, but this function can be impaired during bouts of anger.

Frequent anger episodes can lead to lasting damage to blood vessel function, according to Shimbo.

“Once it’s chronic and your artery is impaired, that’s the time that the cascade starts to accelerate to heart disease risk,” Shimbo said.

While it might feel good to yell, vent, or go for a run, these arousal-increasing activities are not effective ways to manage anger, according to a recent meta-analysis.

“Most people don’t really know what to do when they’re angry,” saidSophie L. Kjaervik, PhD, an aggression researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University and lead author of the meta-analysis.

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Instead of venting, try activities that can decrease arousal, such as meditation, yoga, and deep breathing, to help calm yourself down.

“We find that decreasing arousal is consistently effective at decreasing anger because you’re decreasing your body’s fight mode, so that makes you less angry,” Kjaervik said.

Golden recommends trying a slow, deep breathing exercise when you need to cool off: Inhale for four seconds, exhale for six seconds, and repeat.

“This particular rate of breathing has been found to slow down the heart rate,” Golden told Verywell in an email.

Practicing relaxation exercises, self-soothing with compassionate dialog, and reflecting on the thoughts and feelings that contribute to anger can also help manage this emotion, he added.

“Our anger is a reaction to and distraction from other uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, shame, powerlessness, rejection, sadness, or feelings of inadequacy,” Golden said. “Labeling our feelings has been found to reduce our anger.”

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What This Means For YouAnger is an intense emotion that can contribute to long-term health conditions. Mindfulness and meditation can help, but consider speaking with a trusted healthcare provider about specific anger management strategies that can work for you.

What This Means For You

Anger is an intense emotion that can contribute to long-term health conditions. Mindfulness and meditation can help, but consider speaking with a trusted healthcare provider about specific anger management strategies that can work for you.

6 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Barlow MA, Wrosch C, Gouin JP, Kunzmann U.Is anger, but not sadness, associated with chronic inflammation and illness in older adulthood?Psychology and Aging. 2019;34(3):330-340. doi:10.1037/pag0000348

Ke S, Guimond AJ, Tworoger SS, et al.Gut feelings: associations of emotions and emotion regulation with the gut microbiome in women.Psychol Med. 2023;53(15):7151-7160. doi:10.1017/S0033291723000612

Shimbo D, Cohen MT, McGoldrick M, et al.Translational research of the acute effects of negative emotions on vascular endothelial health: findings from a randomized controlled study.J Am Heart Assoc. 2024;13(9):e032698. doi:10.1161/JAHA.123.032698

Kjærvik SL, Bushman BJ.A meta-analytic review of anger management activities that increase or decrease arousal: what fuels or douses rage?.Clin Psychol Rev. 2024;109:102414. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102414

Leggett AN, Zarit SH, Kim K, Almeida DM, Klein LC.Depressive mood, anger, and daily cortisol of caregivers on high- and low-stress days.Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2015;70(6):820-829. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu070

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