The findings appear in the September issue of
Psychosomatic Medicine.
In the study, Suarez tested C-reactive
protein (CRP) blood levels in 121 healthy,
nonsmoking men and women between 18 and 65 years
of age. On the same day, he also measured each
participant's level of anger, hostility and
depression using a series of standard
psychological tests. He found that - in the
absence of heart disease risk factors such as
smoking, obesity and high blood pressure - high
levels of these negative emotional states
"significantly predicted the blood level of
CRP." Those who were prone to anger, hostility
or depression had two to three times higher CRP
levels than their more mellow peers, the
researchers said.
It's not yet clear why this association
exists, but studies are under way to shed light
on pathways by which anger or depression might
encourage inflammation. In one study, Suarez
plans to track patients for two years, to see if
hotheaded individuals are any more likely to
develop elevated CRP levels over time.
Other studies are planned that focus on
anger's effect on stress hormones such as
noradrenaline and norepinephrine. The latter
hormone, in particular, works on a second
chemical, nuclear factor-kappa B, "as a kind of
'off/on' switch" for inflammation," Suarez said.
"When that switch is turned on, it begins a
cascade of events that leads to the promotion or
release of inflammatory proteins."
In the meantime, people concerned about their
heart health might want to just "cool it" when
tempers flare. "It's very important to pay
attention to how we can change these behaviours,"
Suarez said. "I know it isn't easy, though."
"It's difficult to change patterns of behaviour
that are intrinsic to who we are as individuals,
so it's not going to be an overnight thing," he
added. "But we can start by saying, 'What gets
me angry?' and 'If I get angry, do I start to
feel depressed and withdrawn from my social
network?' " Also, take a stress break. "If a
walk around the park can calm you down, do it,"
Suarez said.
C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is a protein found in
the blood that indicates "inflammation". It is
produced in the liver and during infection, and with
some forms of cancer and inflammatory diseases
(rheumatoid arthritis, lupus) it can be elevated in
a blood test. CRP can also be elevated when there is
inflammation in the arteries of the heart and is a
"marker" for coronary artery disease.
High sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) is a common test
that is done to assess the risk of heart disease,
stroke and diabetes. Like high cholesterol, it is
not the disease in itself, but high levels (over
3.0) that indicate a higher risk. Scientists don't
know if it is a marker or is a cause of heart
disease, but we do know that inflammation of the
heart blood vessel walls is always present in heart
attack victims. Inflammation is the body's defense
against injury or infection and unstable plaques in
the coronary artery can rupture and the inflammatory
cells rush in to repair. Even people with low
cholesterol can have high CRP indicating
inflammation.
There have been numerous studies of CRP in large
populations of people, and it's role as a risk for
heart attack is well established. Some believe it is
even a better predictor than high LDL cholesterol.
Your blood offers many clues about your heart
health. For example, high levels of "bad"
cholesterol in your blood can be a sign that you're
at increased risk of having a heart attack. And
other substances in your blood can help your doctor
determine if you have heart failure or are at risk
of developing plaques in your arteries
(atherosclerosis).
