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Researchers say that drugs can block adrenaline and help stabilize your heart.
You can really give yourself heart problems by annoying yourself.
Anger and stress can lead to atrial fibrillation – a shaky or irregular heartbeat that can lead to heart failure and other serious cardiovascular problems.
There is even a term for the condition: atrial fibrillation triggered by an emotion.
However, a new study published today shows that medications called beta-blockers (which reduce adrenaline levels, slow down the heart and blood pressure) could prevent you from blowing into a proverbial seal when you get get upset or stressed.
Adrenaline is released during the body's "fight or flight" reaction, which can be activated by strong emotions. Also known as epinephrine, the hormone helps your body in times of crisis.
But it can also cause health problems when it is released chronically because of stress.
The one-year study conducted by researchers at Yale University concluded that patients with a history of atrial fibrillation (AFib) were significantly less likely to suffer from an episode of dementia. Arrhythmia triggered by anger or stress they were taking beta blockers.
"We found that among beta-blocker patients, there was an AFIB related to anger, but it was very mild," Dr. Rachel Lampert, professor of internal medicine (cardiology) at Yale School told Healthline. of Medicine.
An earlier study by the same research group, published in 2014, was the first to show that patients with a history of AFib often had later episodes associated with anger or stress, according to Lampert.
The study confirmed anecdotes about negative emotions triggering episodes of atrial fibrillation in patients with the intermittent form of the disease. The hearts of other types of patients are at AFib at all times, noted Lampert.
The latest study was conducted between 2004 and 2009 and is reported in HeartRhythm, the journal of the Heart Rhythm Society and the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society.
This involved 95 participants who recorded their daily emotions in an electronic journal for a year. Participants also used a portable monitor to record their heart rate and signs of atrial fibrillation.
Of the subjects in the study, 56 had been prescribed by their doctor to beta-blockers. Lampert and colleagues identified beta-blockers as a potential protective factor and conducted a follow-up study using the same data.
"The results showed that patients taking beta-blockers felt anger and stress as often as those who did not take these drugs," said the researchers in a statement. "However, these emotional episodes increased the chances of AFib only four times, compared to 20 times in those who did not take beta-blockers."
"In participants taking beta-blockers without antiarrhythmic properties, the effect was even stronger, completely blocking the proarrhythmic effect of anger or stress," the researchers added.
"While patients often describe anger or stress triggering their emotions, our data show that it's not just a story," said Lampert. "We show that beta-blockers can block the deleterious effects of emotion in people prone to AFib triggered by emotions."
"In some ways, that confirms what we suspect," Dr. Rahul Aggarwal, an interventional cardiologist at Tenet Florida Physician Services, told Healthline. "We always felt that stress was the cause of AFib and we know that beta-blockers reduce the stress response."
In fact, Aggarwal said that patients who show up at the emergency room with stress-related AFib are often treated with intravenous beta-blockers, which can sometimes end the episode.
"We have been doing it for decades," he said.
Lampert noted that, since AFib can not always be treated, symptom management is essential to maintaining a good quality of life.
"Confirming the impact of emotion on arrhythmia can pave the way for other therapies," she said.
Doctors and their patients should also consider ways to control stress and anger without medication, such as yoga or meditation, Aggarwal added.
Aggarwal estimated that stress, whether related to emotions, trauma or infection, accounts for 40% of all AFib hospitalizations. He added that AFib triggered by emotions accounted for about 15 to 20% of the cases that he sees.
Other triggers can range from caffeine and alcohol to dehydration and sleep apnea.
"It is important to know the patient's history and to have a good understanding of the triggers," he said.
Beta-blockers are used to treat a wide range of health problems, from high blood pressure to heart failure to migraine headaches.
By blocking the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, they make the heart beat more slowly and with less force.
Drugs have been shown to reduce coronary death by preventing people from having a second heart attack.
Drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness and weakness are some of the side effects of beta-blockers.
"Some patients will benefit" with the use of beta-blockers to prevent atrial fibrillation triggered by emotions, said Dr. Wilbert Aronow, a researcher and professor of medicine at Westchester Medical Center / New York Medical College. "In addition, beta-blockers can also slow the fast ventricular rate in these patients, reduce ventricular arrhythmias … reduce high blood pressure, increasing the risk of having a stroke … reduce angina pectoris if these patients suffer from angina pectoris due to coronary artery disease are effective in the treatment of heart failure that may be present in patients with atrial fibrillation. "
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