Heart Beat: Traffic, anger strain the heart
Heart Beat
Traffic, anger strain the heart
Sitting in traffic is tough on the nerves. It could also be hard on the heart.
Researchers interviewed nearly 1,500 heart attack survivors living in the region of Germany around Augsburg. They were asked about what they had been doing in the four days before their heart attacks. About 8% said they had been stuck in traffic a few hours prior to the attack. The lingering effect of traffic seemed to be worse in women and those with the chest pain known as angina (American Heart Association epidemiology meeting, March 2009).
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