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Stress A study published in the May 2000 edition of the journal Circulation, reports that people who are highly prone to anger are nearly three times more likely to have a heart attack. Nearly 13,000 black and white men and women, ages 45 to 64, participated in the study. Participants rated themselves on a 10-question anger scale:   Almost Never Sometimes Often Almost Always I'm quick-tempered. I have a fiery temper. I'm a hot-headed person. I get angry when I'm slowed down by others' mistakes. I feel annoyed when I'm not given recognition for doing good work. I fly off the handle. When I get angry, I say nasty things. It makes me furious when I'm criticized in front of others. When I get frustrated, I feel like hitting someone. I feel infuriated when I do a good job and get a poor evaluation. Almost 8 percent of the study's participants fell into the high-risk range, about 55 percent had moderate risk and 37 percent found themselves in the low-risk category. Researchers found that high scorers were slightly younger than other participants, were more likely to be men and had less than a high school education (compared with participants who scored in moderate and low categories). High scorers were also more likely to smoke and drink, to have slightly lower levels of HDL (the good cholesterol) and to have a higher waist-to-hip ratio (a measure of being overweight).
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