A new study published in the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology suggests that anger and other negative emotions may be triggers for ischemic stroke. The study, conducted by Tel Aviv University and the Israel Center for Disease Control, found that people who had strokes were more likely to have experienced anger or negative emotions in the two hours prior to the stroke than at the same time the day before the stroke.
They were also more likely to have reacted quickly to a startling event, such as getting out of bed suddenly after hearing a grandchild fall down and cry or standing up from a chair quickly after hearing an unexpected loud noise.
The people were also more likely to have experienced anger, negative emotions, or sudden changes in body position in the two hours before the stroke than they were, on average, in the year before the stroke.
"We know a lot about risk factors that make people more likely to have a stroke in their lifetime, such as smoking and high blood pressure, but until now we have no any information on what causes a stroke to occur at a particular time," lead author Silvia Koton was quoted as saying.
The study examined that 200 people who were hospitalised with an ischemic stroke or a transient ischemic attack caused by reduced blood flow to the brain.
The participants, who had an average age of 66, were interviewed one to four days after the stroke occurred. Approximately 30 percent of them reported exposure to anger, negative emotions such as fear, irritability or nervousness, or sudden changes in body position in response to a startling event during the two hours before the stroke.
Levels of anger and other negative emotions were rated on a scale. For example, participants were identified as exposed to anger if they said they had a peak level of anger at a five or higher on a seven-point scale, which was defined as "very angry," "furious," or "enraged."
"It's possible that brief episodes of mental stress cause transient changes in blood clotting and in the function of cells lining blood vessels. It is important to note that our study does not assess the cumulative risk related to exposures to potential triggers but short-term risks during the two-hour period immediately following exposures," Koton said.
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