Hostility Threatens Young Hearts
Hostility Threatens Young Hearts
Cardiac Rehabilitation, Exercise Can Help Defuse the Problem, Say Researchers
March 14, 2005 -- Hostility may be bad for your heart, especially if you are a young heart disease patient.
Hostility is higher in younger heart disease patients compared with older people with the same condition, according to a new study.
In addition, hostility can make heart symptoms worse in young patients. Evidence shows young heart disease patients have poorer long-term prognosis, and that hostility is associated with premature heart disease and heart attacks, write researchers.
Those with "high hostility have a significantly worse [heart disease risk] profile" than patients of the same age who aren't hostile, says Carl Lavie, MD, a cardiologist who worked on the study.
"Clinicians need to recognize that psychological factors are important; they can't be basically blown off," he tells WebMD.
Exercise and cardiac rehabilitation can help patients defuse hostility while also helping their overall health, says Lavie, who works at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans.
"Cardiac rehabilitation and an exercise training program have a significant impact to reduce hostility while improving many other [risk factors]," he tells WebMD.
The idea that psychological factors -- such as hostility and depression -- can influence heart health isn't new. But it's important and often overlooked, says Lavie.
"Psychological factors have not been emphasized," he tells WebMD, adding that most studies have focused on the high rates of depression in heart disease patients.
Lavie and co-worker Richard Milani, MD, recently studied hostility and heart disease in 500 patients at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation. The patients had enrolled in a cardiac rehabilitation program two to six weeks after having survived a heart attack or after undergoing a surgical procedure to unblock clogged atherosclerotic vessels of the heart.
Participants were divided into three age groups: young (under age 50), middle age (50-65 years), and elderly (65 or older). Data included cholesterol and blood sugar levels, as well as questionnaires covering hostility and quality of life.
Hostility scores were 2.5 times higher in the 81 patients who were younger than 50 years old, compared with the 268 elderly patients, the study shows.
At the study's start, the hostile young patients were in poorer shape than their peers who weren't hostile. Their scores were worse from every angle, from cholesterol to blood sugar to quality of life.
Hostility Threatens Young Hearts
Cardiac Rehabilitation, Exercise Can Help Defuse the Problem, Say Researchers
March 14, 2005 -- Hostility may be bad for your heart, especially if you are a young heart disease patient.
Hostility is higher in younger heart disease patients compared with older people with the same condition, according to a new study.
In addition, hostility can make heart symptoms worse in young patients. Evidence shows young heart disease patients have poorer long-term prognosis, and that hostility is associated with premature heart disease and heart attacks, write researchers.
Those with "high hostility have a significantly worse [heart disease risk] profile" than patients of the same age who aren't hostile, says Carl Lavie, MD, a cardiologist who worked on the study.
"Clinicians need to recognize that psychological factors are important; they can't be basically blown off," he tells WebMD.
Exercise and cardiac rehabilitation can help patients defuse hostility while also helping their overall health, says Lavie, who works at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans.
"Cardiac rehabilitation and an exercise training program have a significant impact to reduce hostility while improving many other [risk factors]," he tells WebMD.
Psychology Meets Cardiology
The idea that psychological factors -- such as hostility and depression -- can influence heart health isn't new. But it's important and often overlooked, says Lavie.
"Psychological factors have not been emphasized," he tells WebMD, adding that most studies have focused on the high rates of depression in heart disease patients.
Studying the Hostile Heart
Lavie and co-worker Richard Milani, MD, recently studied hostility and heart disease in 500 patients at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation. The patients had enrolled in a cardiac rehabilitation program two to six weeks after having survived a heart attack or after undergoing a surgical procedure to unblock clogged atherosclerotic vessels of the heart.
Participants were divided into three age groups: young (under age 50), middle age (50-65 years), and elderly (65 or older). Data included cholesterol and blood sugar levels, as well as questionnaires covering hostility and quality of life.
Hostility scores were 2.5 times higher in the 81 patients who were younger than 50 years old, compared with the 268 elderly patients, the study shows.
At the study's start, the hostile young patients were in poorer shape than their peers who weren't hostile. Their scores were worse from every angle, from cholesterol to blood sugar to quality of life.
