Comments (0)

By admin, July 26, 2010 9:25 am

This month alone I have learned of four colleagues that have had heart issues due to work stress. There was an episode of Seinfeld that showed George’s father shouting “Serenity now!” instead of getting angry. While we laughed at that episode, new research has found a link between suppressing workplace anger and increased risk for heart attack. In other words, holding anger inside at the office could literally kill you.

Though this research began more than a decade ago, it has become particularly relevant in our difficult economic times. Workers may feel uneasy about the consequences of disagreement or having a misunderstanding with a boss or colleague. People may experience more job-related pressures but also feel less appreciated. We’ve heard many disturbing accounts of disgruntled workers reacting violently when things aren’t going the way they want them to, yet as this study makes clear, it’s not healthy to hold in your feelings all the time either.

Mad Men at Work

Working with a group of 2,832 Swedish men, the researchers designed a questionnaire to quantify each participant’s typical style for handling angry feelings toward superiors or colleagues at work. A series of questions measured the likelihood that each participant would react “covertly” by suppressing his anger (walking away and taking some time to calm himself, but not taking up the issue again), holding feelings inside and later developing physical symptoms such as a headache or stomachache, or venting his anger elsewhere. What they found is what makes gulping down your angry thoughts and words at work look very unwise. The more covert a participant’s style of handling workplace anger, the more likely he was to have had a heart attack in the period between 1992 (when the study began) and 2003 (when it ended).

What does this mean for heart health? The researchers found that those who tended to handle conflict with a superior or coworker by suppressing their anger without saying anything (just “letting it pass”) had double the risk for heart attack or cardiac death compared with those who never or seldom behaved this way, and for those who held their anger inside and suffered physical distress later, the risk was triple.

Note: Though this study examined only men, study coauthor Tores Theorell, MD, PhD, professor emeritus and scientific advisor at the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University, said that covert coping is actually even more common among women. The study was reported in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Fine, You’re Mad, What Can You Do?

The findings suggest that it’s unhealthy to suppress your emotions when you’re treated unfairly, say the researchers. But other research has shown that simply venting, expressing strong anger directly, actually can trigger a heart attack (although rarely), so this is not a healthy option either. I called a workplace-management consultant to ask about the healthiest ways to handle anger at work, both for your well-being and for your career.

“Blowing up or holding in anger can both lead to problems, and people who suppress their anger eventually blow up anyway,” I heard from Emil F. Coccaro, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the clinical neuroscience and psychopharmacology research unit in the department of psychiatry at The University of Chicago. Dr. Coccaro said that the goal is not just to get through a situation but “to be calm inside and out and to not feel as if the world is out to get you.”

Take a Time-Out

The best and simplest strategy for handling anger at work is one any modern parent will recognize, a “time-out.” “Excuse yourself and go for a walk. After you’ve calmed down, you’re more likely to have a discussion that’s rational and produces a good resolution,” Dr. Coccaro said. “If you try to discuss the situation when you’re angry, you’ll say things you’ll regret and also you won’t get what you want.”

Another cool-down strategy: Do some deep-breathing exercises, or try counting slowly to 10. Then, he suggests, you should mentally review the situation when you’ve calmed down. Consider whether your anger is justified, was what the person said or did really so bad? Could it be that you were just feeling irritable that day? Or perhaps you need to take some responsibility, did your own actions trigger something you hadn’t foreseen? It’s important to try to understand the situation more completely.

Everyone gets angry from time to time and sometimes with good reason. If you’re blowing up a few times a week, you may need to be evaluated for anger-management problems, Dr. Coccaro said. Treatment may involve talking with a therapist and sometimes even medication for a short while to help you learn to reframe your thinking about your interactions with others. Sometimes at least some of the problem lies within.

Source(s):

Tores Theorell, MD, PhD, professor emeritus, Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Emil F. Coccaro, MD, E.C. Manning Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral neuroscience, Biological Sciences Division, The University of Chicago

Stress can make any day hard. There are many ways you can avoid having a heart attack and minimizing stress is one of them. Check out our weight loss tips to find out more ways to minimize the risk of having a heart attack.

Comments (0)

By admin, February 14, 2010 4:11 pm

There are millions of people nationwide dealing with depression which has escalated the number of cardiac problems over the years. This is slowly posing a problem to many lives and most people are not even aware of the issues. Become one of the people that prevent themselves from having unwanted cardiac problems in the future.

Be happy... be healthy

Depression has long been associated with cardiac problems. We know, for instance, that people who are physically healthy but depressed are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease… that being depressed puts people who already have heart disease — including those who have had a heart attack or bypass surgery — at higher risk for recurrence of a cardiac event… and that people who are depressed after a cardiac event are at greater risk for death within the next few years. What we haven’t known until now iswhy.

A recent study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, identified a critically important factor explaining this link: lack of exercise. Researchers followed 1,017 outpatients with stable coronary heart disease for nearly five years and were surprised to discover that physiological changes (elevated cortisol and norepinephrine, for example) were not responsible for the increased risk of cardiac events associated with depression. Instead, the researchers discovered that the increased rate of cardiovascular events in depressed patients has more to do with physical inactivity. The study team found that lack of exercise was associated with a 44% greater rate of cardiovascular events. After accounting for lack of exercise and other health behaviors (such as medication non-adherence and smoking), depression by itself was no longer associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. The current study reveals that the sedentary habits of depressed individuals creates a cycle of depression and poor cardiac health.

Depressed Patients Don’t Exercise

I called an expert in the matter of cardiovascular disease and exercise, Gordon Blackburn, PhD, program director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic, to ask about his thoughts on the study. Dr. Blackburn told me that many patients experience some level of depression after a heart attack. Many go on to develop a new attitude, becoming invigorated about the process of a new, healthier lifestyle, but even a mild and transient bout of depression can increase the risk of future cardiac problems.

Making matters worse, Dr. Blackburn said that those with depression tend to not be compliant with other lifestyle or management strategies such as medications, nutrition guidelines or follow-up medical care. Clearly all these factors contribute to a worsening of heart disease, putting people at higher risk, notes Dr. Blackburn.

How Exercise Helps

There is a solution to this problem. Cardiac rehabilitation programs, which are part of follow-up care for months after cardiac surgery or a heart attack at many hospitals, get patients up and moving with a regular exercise routine. Unfortunately, only about 20% of eligible patients participate, even though these programs are covered by many insurance companies and Medicare. If more patients did take part, Dr. Blackburn says, their health would improve in a variety of ways, all of which would help them feel better and live longer.

Dr. Blackburn told me he is disturbed that some patients assume cardiac procedures or bypass surgery will fix their heart problems. Heart disease continues, he says, and if patients don’t address their risk factors, it will surely progress. Doctors have not routinely focused on depression as a significant issue with cardiac patients, says Dr. Blackburn, but perhaps the results of this study may change this. Regular screening for depression would show health care teams which patients need treatment for it, as well as underscore for patients the importance of a cardiac exercise program that could help save their lives.

Source(s):

Gordon Blackburn, PhD, program director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic.

Take the time to look through all your meal options and get exactly what you want. Make sure that you include one of the Medifast Coupons so that you can get a great discounted price on your next Medifast Diet Plan.