A clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)1 suggests that even brief episodes of anger may impair blood vessel function, a key factor in cardiovascular health. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association2 and highlighted by the American Heart Association.
The study adds to growing evidence that emotional states can have measurable physiological effects on the cardiovascular system.
Researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial involving healthy adult participants. Individuals were assigned to recall and relive specific emotional experiences, including anger, anxiety, sadness or to perform a neutral task like counting numbers to 100.
Participants in the anger group were instructed to recall a personal memory that made them angry for eight minutes. Investigators then measured endothelial function, which reflects how well blood vessels dilate in response to increased blood flow.
Endothelial function is considered an early marker of cardiovascular health. Impaired endothelial function is associated with increased risk of hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke, previous studies have confirmed.
Laurie Friedman Donze, Ph.D., psychologist and program officer in the Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which funded the study says that, “We’ve long suspected, based on observational studies, that anger can negatively affect the heart. This study in healthy adults helps fill a real knowledge gap and shows how this might occur.” “It also opens the door to promoting anger management interventions as a way to potentially help stave off heart disease, the leading cause of death in this country.”
While a brief spurt of occasional anger is normal and generally has a benign impact on the heart, it is recurring or frequent anger the researchers said raises concern.
“If you’re a person who gets angry all the time, you’re having chronic injuries to your blood vessels.” "It’s these chronic injuries over time that may eventually cause irreversible effects on vascular health and eventually increase your heart disease risk.”Daichi Shimbo, Study lead, M.D., a cardiologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.
The study found that:
Just eight minutes of induced anger significantly impaired endothelial function.
The impairment was observed shortly after the anger task.
The reduced vessel function persisted for approximately 40 minutes before returning toward baseline.
Similar impairment was not observed in participants assigned to anxiety or sadness tasks.
Researchers reported that the anger condition specifically reduced flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a widely used ultrasound-based measure of vascular health.
This suggests that anger may have a unique and measurable impact on vascular biology compared to other negative emotions.
See also: Dr Prerna Kohli’s Spill Your Feels: Why You Cry When Stressed
The endothelium is the thin inner lining of blood vessels. It plays a critical role in regulating blood flow, vascular tone and preventing abnormal clot formation.
Repeated or chronic endothelial dysfunction is considered an early step in the development of cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death globally. While traditional risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol are well established, emotional and psychological stressors are increasingly recognized as contributors to cardiovascular risk.
This study suggests that even short emotional episodes may have measurable cardiovascular effects. The findings do not establish that brief anger directly causes heart attacks but highlight a potential pathway linking emotional stress to vascular dysfunction.
References
National Institutes of Health. “NIH-Funded Clinical Trial Links Frequent Anger, Increased Risk of Heart Disease.” NIH News Releases. Accessed February 2026. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-funded-clinical-trial-links-frequent-anger-increased-risk-heart-disease.
American Heart Association. “Brief Anger May Impair Blood Vessel Function.” AHA Newsroom. Accessed February 2026. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/brief-anger-may-impair-blood-vessel-function.
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