For all the serious health problems associated with anger, scientists have uncovered an unlikely health benefit that may indicate blockages in blood flow to the neck and brain.

Researchers compared how blood flow to the brain and carotid arteries responds to anger in three sets of patients: 10 healthy young folks (ages 19-27), 20 older healthy people (ages 38-60) and 28 patients diagnosed with essential hypertension.

While patients completed a series of tasks designed to provoke anger and stress, ultrasound imaging measured their effects of this emotional upheaval on blood flow in the carotid artery and an artery in the brain, along with monitoring blood pressure and heart rates.

When exposed to stress, those diagnosed with hypertension experienced no significant change in brain blood flow or vasodilation, which contributes to the beginnings of myocardial ischemia, a disorder typically caused by coronary artery obstruction, also known as atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD), the leading cause of death worldwide. Conversely, healthy patients who blew their tops during the study -- thanks to stress -- experienced increased blood flow to the brain and dilation of the carotid artery.

Cerebral Ultrasound, Vol. 7, No. 32, July 3, 2009 Free Full Text PDF

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