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Dimensions of anger and hostility in cardiac patients, hypertensive patients, and controls

P E Ricci Bitti1, P Gremigni, G Bertolotti

  • 1Department of Psychology, Bologna University, Italy.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
|January 1, 1995
PubMed

Insights

Specific anger and hostility components are linked to essential hypertension (EH) and coronary heart disease (CHD). This study highlights psychological risk factors for cardiovascular conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Psychological Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Disease Research
  • Behavioral Cardiology

Background:

  • Anger and hostility are recognized as potential contributors to essential hypertension (EH) and coronary heart disease (CHD).
  • Understanding the specific psychological traits associated with these conditions is crucial for risk assessment and prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between specific measures of anger and hostility and the prevalence of CHD and EH.
  • To identify which components of anger and hostility are most strongly related to these cardiovascular conditions.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study was conducted with 80 patients diagnosed with CHD, 80 patients with EH, and 80 healthy controls.
  • Hostility was assessed using the Cook and Medley Hostility Scale (HO).
  • Anger was evaluated using the Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI).

Main Results:

  • Patients with CHD and EH exhibited significantly higher scores on specific subsets of the HO and subscales of the MAI compared to healthy controls.
  • Certain subscales related to anger and hostility showed an age-dependent association with the studied conditions.

Conclusions:

  • Particular components of anger and hostility are significantly associated with essential hypertension and coronary heart disease.
  • These findings underscore the importance of considering specific psychological risk factors in the etiology and management of cardiovascular diseases.

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