Have you ever been so angry all you wanted to do was just to get gains? Go to the gym, work out and sweat off some steam from whatever got you riled up. That’s always productive, you get stronger and it calms you down.
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But it also might kill you.
A new study led by Dr Andrew Smyth from the population health research institute at McMaster University in Hamilton, concluded that working out while angry or upset can triple the risk of having a heart attack within an hour.
Studies have been conducted on the correlation before, but in much smaller sample size. This study however included 12,461 participants in 52 countries completing a survey after having a heart attack. The study found that the average age was 58 and around 75% of the participants were men.
The survey consisted of simple questions such as if the person was angry or upset, if they had heavy exertion in the hour before their heart attack or during the same time period during the day.
The study also showed that heart attack risk was the greatest between 6pm and midnight and was independent of other factors like smoking high blood pressure or obesity.
There are a couple of things to consider about this study;
- It was an observational study, meaning it cannot prove cause and effect.
- It was a survey taken by recent heart attack victims. They might misremember or exaggerate the events leading up to the heart attack.
The findings suggest that there are better times to work out and it does make a difference, and it might be wise to find another way to vent or blow off steam than hitting the gym.
