Anger and Coronary Calcification in Individuals with and without Risk Factors of Coronary Artery Disease

ABSTRACT

The authors investigated the relationship between anger and the calcification of the coronary artery in individuals with and without risk factors for coronary artery disease in Korea. Sixty-one subjects with risk factors of coronary artery disease and 31 subjects without risk factors were enrolled in this study. Electron Beam Computed Tomography was used to measure the calcium level of coronary artery. The anger expression scale was used to measure the anger levels. The anxiety, depression, hostility, and somatization subscales of the symptom checklist-90-revised (SCL-90-R) and the global assessment of recent stress (GARS) scale were used to assess the psychopathology and perceived stress. The logistic regression analysis results showed that only the anger-total score was significantly associated with the coronary calcification regardless of the risk factors. These results suggest that anger plays an important role in the calcification of the coronary artery.