A new study by the University of Tennessee has found that people who are more likely to display "hostile" personality traits - such as being sarcastic or cynical - are at a higher risk of heart complications.
As reported by the Science Daily, the US study tracked 2,321 heart attack survivors, who had all undergone a personality test prior to being monitored over the next 24 months.
After the two-year observation was complete, the participants were survival rates were compared to the results of their personality score.
Researchers soon discovered that those who were hostile toward others were more likely to suffer a repeat heart attack. In addition, these individuals were also less likely to take care of their own wellbeing - being more likely to smoke, drink, and have a poor diet.
Publishing their study in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, researchers concluded that a person's character could impact their heart - through both behavioral and psychological mechanisms.
Study author Tracey Vitori stated that some of the "hostile" characteristics that were highlighted were sarcasm, cynicism, resentment, impatience or irritability.
Yes, just when I thought 2020 couldn't get any worse, I'm informed my entire lifestyle is essentially a heart attack waiting to happen.
"Hostile individuals have increased clotting times, higher adrenaline levels, above normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and increased cardiac reactivity," researchers stated.
The added: "These known inflammatory factors may initiate cardiac events and increase poor clinical outcomes."
Vitori - an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee College of Nursing - stated: "It's not just a one-off occurrence but characterizes how a person interacts with people.
"We know that taking control of lifestyle habits improves the outlook for heart attack patients and our study suggests that improving hostile behaviors could also be a positive move."
Per the Science Medical Center, other experts have weighed in on the study's results.
Professor Sian Harding from the Cardiac Pharmacology at Imperial College London,said:
"[The findings] adds to a body of knowledge which links strong (mostly negative) emotion with cardiac death (often arrhythmic sudden cardiac death). It is well powered and has a useful message for cardiac patients.
"A surprisingly large proportion of the cardiac patients scored highly on the hostility score, which increases its relevance."
Experts also found that those with a more positive outlook on life are more likely to exercise, drink less, and not smoke.
A previous study published by Jeff C Huffman - an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School - stated: "Being happy can give you a healthy heart."
The paper added that "people experiencing positive emotions have lower cortisol levels, and fewer blood pressure abnormalities and fibrinogen stress responses to a mental stress test, compared with those not feeling positive emotions."
Huffman's article, titled 'Could being happy give you a healthy heart?' also reinforced the findings that "being significantly unhappy – having the syndrome of clinical depression – is associated with negative cardiac outcomes."
