Being Sarcastic Could Be Bad For Your Heart, Study Finds

Being Sarcastic Could Be Bad For Your Heart, Study FindsNBC/Warner Bros.

Apparently being sarcastic could be bad for your heart, so I’d better start eating more heart-healthy foods.

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The news comes after the University of Tennessee conducted a study on 2,321 heart attack survivors, and found those who expressed negative traits like sarcasm posed a greater risk of dying of a second heart attack in the next two years.

The university looked at survivors who had ‘hostile traits,’ which included cynicism, resentment, impatience or irritability, as well as sarcasm, and concluded that being in a constant state of negativity can put strain on your health.

ChandlerWarner Bros.

Those who took part in the study did a personality test at the beginning, then were tracked for 24 months by researchers.

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At the end of the two years the participants’ survival rates were compared to their personality scores, and hostility could be accurately used to predict someone’s chance of dying of a repeat heart attack. Previous research has found that being optimistic has a direct impact on cardiovascular health as it reduces stress hormones, pulse rate and blood pressure.

Writing in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, the researchers said:

Hostile individuals have increased clotting times, higher adrenaline levels, above normal cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and increased cardiac reactivity.These known inflammatory factors may initiate cardiac events and increase poor clinical outcomes.

Those who are more hostile are reportedly more likely to drink, smoke and have a poor lifestyle and diet compared to those who have a more positive outlook are more likely to eat well and exercise more, in addition to drinking or smoking less. It was also found positive people are better at quitting bad habits like smoking.

Charlie HarperWarner Bros.

Study author Tracey Vitori of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, added:

Hostility is a personality trait that includes being sarcastic, cynical, resentful, impatient or irritable. It’s not just a one-off occurrence but characterises how a person interacts with people.

We know that taking control of lifestyle habits improves the outlook for heart attack patients and our study suggests that improving hostile behaviours could also be a positive move.

The NHS offers 10 tips on how to practice good heart health; from cutting down on your salt intake and exercising more, to eating more fibre and giving up smoking.

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Anyone want to give Chandler Bing a call to break the bad news?

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Link nguồn : https://www.unilad.co.uk/health/being-sarcastic-could-be-bad-for-your-heart-study-finds