Monday, March 2, 2009

Anger and the Heart

Anger (dosa) is one of Buddhism's three mental "defilements" or "corruptions of the heart." The three (greed, anger, and delusion) are also known as the Three Roots of Unwholesome Conduct. All suffering is rooted in them. Not only does anger result in negative (unpleasant, unwelcome, unfortunate) karma, medical science now reveals a very tangible cost.
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How Heart Handles Anger Predicts Irregular Beat
Some heart patients' telltale reaction to anger predicts risk of dangerous irregular heartbeat (ABC News)
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Study shows anger triggers dangerous heart rhythms in some people (Getty/ABC News).

How the heart handles anger seems to predict who's at risk for a life-threatening irregular heartbeat. Negative emotions like hostility and depression have long been considered risks for developing heart disease, and deaths from cardiac arrest rise after disasters such as earthquakes.
But research released Monday goes a step farther, uncovering a telltale pattern in the EKGs of certain heart patients when they merely recall a maddening event — an anger spike that foretold bad news.

In already vulnerable people, "anger causes electrical changes in the heart," said Dr. Rachel Lampert, a Yale University cardiologist who led the work. When that happens even in the doctor's office, "that means they're more likely to have arrhythmias when they go out in real life." More>>

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