Cynicism is Linked to Heart Disease*
By Leslie Papp, Medical Reporter
Researchers are finding that attitudes such as cynicism, anger and hopelessness can play a big role in undermining the health of a person’s heart. “This really is a precursor of coronary disease,” said Dr. Ad Appels, a psychology professor at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. He was among several researchers at a recent medical conference in Montreal who presented findings linking one’s state of mind to the risk of a heart attack. Appels said “vital exhaustion or burnout is a risk factor. Depressed people are known to be at increased peril of heart trouble. So are those prone to anger. Appels cited a recent study that found 45 per cent of angry, depressed or “exhausted” coronary patients who had undergone an artery-widening angioplasty suffered a relapse. About 7 per cent of patients who didn’t share such attitudes experienced a relapse. Cynicism is bad for your heart since it’s a form of anger. Studies show that people with high levels of cynicism and repressed rage had more fatty material clogging their blood vessels. Venting rage could be healthier than shutting it in, concluded U. S. researchers studying a group of 592 women. “Women who expressed their anger outwardly — took it out on others or tended to blame someone else — had lower coronary heart disease mortality,” said Susan Sutherland, Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina.
*This article appeared in the Toronto Star, Saturday July 5, 1997, page M5.