Anger and Heart Disease

Patricia P. Chang

The concept of anger as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease originated from the idea that certain behavior patterns were found more commonly among cardiac patients. At the end of the 19th century, Sir William Osler (1892), considered the father of modern medicine, noticed certain characteristics of patients with heart disease: In the worry and strain of modern life, arterial degeneration is not only very common but develops at a relatively early age. For this, I believe that the high pressure at which men live, and the habit of working the machine to its maximum capacity are responsible [for coronary disease]. In the mid-20th century, the Type A “coronaryprone behavior” was defined by Friedman and Rosenman (1959/1974). Typical characteristics of the Type A behavior included competitiveness, excessive drive or achievement-striving, enhanced sense of time urgency, enhanced aggressiveness, ambitiousness, intense concentration and alertness, and high levels of “free-floating hostility.” In 1978, ...

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