In a new study from the University of Tennessee, researchers found that heart attack patients who are sarcastic or irritable could be putting their health at risk.
Hostility is a personality trait that includes being sarcastic, cynical, resentful, impatient or irritable.
It’s not just a one-off occurrence but characterizes how a person interacts with people.
It is known that taking control of lifestyle habits improves the outlook for heart attack patients.
This study suggests that improving hostile behaviors could also be a positive move.
This was one of the largest and most comprehensive studies examining the relationship between hostility and outcomes in heart attack patients.
The study included 2,321 heart attack survivors. Hostility was measured at baseline using the Multiple Adjective Affect Checklist (MAACL). Patients were followed for 24 months for recurrent heart attacks and death.
The average age of participants was 67 years and 68% were men. More than half of the patients (57%) were scored as hostile according to the MAACL.
The team found that hostility was a strong predictor of dying from a second heart attack.
The team says hostility has been linked with heart disease since the 1950s.
This study shows that hostility is a common trait in heart attack survivors and is linked to poor outcomes. More research is needed on how this characteristic affects the body.
The study states that anxiety and depression are emotional states typically evaluated in patients with heart disease.
Adding an assessment of hostility may identify patients at risk for premature death. Educating patients on the potential impact of hostility could motivate behavioral changes.
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The study is published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. One author of the study is Dr. Tracey Vitori.
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