Evidently, being Type-A (feeling rushed and thinking about work a lot) isn’t that bad for your heart — but being really, really hostile is. From Yahoo! News – Temper Tantrum Can Lead to Heart Woes, Study Shows:
But men who described themselves as fiery- or quick-tempered, hot-headed, furious when criticized, or wanting to hit someone when frustrated were 30 percent more likely to suffer from atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that can lead to sudden death.
In fact, such men were 20 percent more likely to have died of anything during the study period than less-angry men, the researchers found.
Can you be contemptuous yet not hostile?
Hostility, as defined by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory test, is a generally contemptuous attitude toward other people.Hostile people will agree with statements such as: “I have often met people who were supposed to be experts who were no better than me” or “I frequently have worked under people who arrange things so they get all the credit.”
The researchers also looked at the classic “Type-A” personality, which includes feeling rushed and thinking about work a lot, but found no association with atrial fibrillation or other forms of heart disease.