Findings of a study on cardiovascular responses to anger, conducted by Drs Marjan Waltman, Douglas Russell and Robert Enright at the University of Wisconsin and the Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI indicate that patients with coronary artery disease and feelings of resentment decreased their stress responses after a 10-week intervention, designed to help them deal with their anger towards a specific person who they felt treated them unjustly.

The researchers who presented the results at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, held March 5-8 in Phoenix, AZ, said: “The outcomes of this study suggest that it is not only a reduction of anger that diminishes the cardiovascular reactions to stress, but rather a change of attitude, which is characterized by more positive feelings, thoughts and behavior toward the person who inflicted the hurt, which can be defined as forgiving.”

The investigation involved patients who showed high levels of anger and a non-forgiving attitude, related to a prior hurtful event. Their reactions to stress, including decreases in blood flow to the heart muscle, which are associated with increased risk of heart attacks, were measured by performing heart scans while recalling the painful event. The measures were repeated at the end of the intervention and at a 10-week follow-up.

Results showed that patients completing the intervention and at follow-up showed less decrease in coronary blood flow during the anger recall test, in combination with a decrease in anger and an increase in forgiving attitude, compared to control patients.

Statistical analysis indicated that the improvement of coronary blood flow responses to stress was more related to the increased forgiving attitude than to the decrease in anger.