They were like runners straining at the starting blocks. That's when he remembered the upholster's comment. On the edge of their seats. They and other researchers have shown that Type-A behavior approximately triples risk of heart attack in men and quadruples it in women. More recently, Redford Williams, M.D., director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina has refined the definition of Type-A. By themselves, he notes, ambition and hard work do not increase risk of heart attack.
Negative emotions reduce blood flow to the heart .
That's what psychiatrist Elizabeth Gullette, M.D., and collagues at Duke University Medical Center discovered when they rigged 132 heart-disease sufferers with portable monitors that recorded blood flow into their hearts. For 48 hours, the particpants were asked to keep diaries of their activities and emotions. Sadness, frustration, and general stress doubled the likelihood of significantly reduced blood flow, a condition that can cause angina and contribute to heart attack. Intense negative emotions tripled this risk. Anger doubles risk of heart attack .