Reducing anger helps avoid a stroke, new study finds

Co-authors of the InterStroke study Consultant Stroke Physician at GUH Dr Michelle Canavan and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at NUI Galway Andrew Smyth in the Clinical Research Facility.

Reducing anger or emotional upset could help some people avoid strokes as a global study finds one in 11 survivors experienced these emotions shortly before having a stroke.

The study, involving stroke survivors from 32 countries including Ireland and co-led by NUI Galway, also found one in 20 engaged in heavy physical exertion in the hour before their stroke.

About 7,500 Irish people have a stroke every year and around 2,000 die, according to the Irish Heart Foundation.

Long-term approaches to preventing strokes include having a healthy lifestyle and not smoking, said Martin O’Donnell, co-lead on the paper, professor of Neurovascular Medicine at NUI Galway, and stroke physician at GUH.

“Our research also shows other events such as an episode of anger or upset or a period of heavy physical exertion independently increase the short-term risk,” he said.

“We would emphasise that a brief episode of heavy physical exertion is different to getting regular physical activity, which reduces the long-term risk of stroke.” 

This research was conducted with 13,462 stroke survivors and analysed patterns in people who suffered an ischemic stroke which is the most common type occurring when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery leading to the brain.

The InterStroke study, published in the European Heart Journal, also looked at intracerebral haemorrhage which is less common and involves bleeding within the brain tissue itself.

Anger or emotional upset can trigger stroke

Anger or emotional upset were found to be triggers, said Andrew Smyth, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at NUI Galway.

“Our research found that anger or emotional upset was linked to an approximately 30% increase in risk of stroke during one hour after an episode with a greater increase if the patient did not have a history of depression,” Prof Smyth said

“The odds were also greater for those with a lower level of education.”

Prof Smyth, also director of the HRB-Clinical Research Facility Galway and a nephrologist at GUH, said they found heavy physical exertion was linked to an “approximately 60% increase in risk” in the hour after the activity.

“There was a greater increase for women and less risk for those with a normal BMI,” he said.

The study also concluded that there was no increase with exposure to both triggers of anger and heavy physical exertion. 

Co-author of the paper, Dr Michelle Canavan, Consultant Stroke Physician at GUH, said: “Our message is for people to practice mental and physical wellness at all ages.

“It is also important for some people to avoid heavy physical exertion, particularly if they are high-risk of cardiovascular, while also adopting a healthy lifestyle of regular exercise,” she said.