Can personality affect heart disease risk?
The connection makes sense. "The outward manifestation that we call personality influences what's going on biologically at a molecular level," says Dr. Michael C. Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. The negative emotions that characterize Type D temperaments trigger the body's stress response. Repeated surges of stress hormones in the body can cause blood pressure to rise and make the blood more likely to clot. Stress also activates the immune system, triggering inflammation that damages blood vessels.
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