It is sort of a common statement that people will make at someone who gets very angry.
“Dude, chill out, don’t have an aneurism!” (or stroke)
Is this a medical myth?
I’ve had two family members die from aneurisms. One right in front of me. They were not ‘pissed off’ at the time, nor were they prone to getting enraged so I don’t think there is a link of any kind.
The thinking is that anger increases blood pressure, which could cause a weak blood vessel (particularly an aneurysm) to rupture. Makes sense to me, but I can’t cite any studies on the matter.
I’m with you on the anecdotal evidence, Zebra. When my grandfather had his first aneurysm, he was already in surgery from something else. His second was at the family reunion whilst saying grace before we all ate. (I wasn’t very hungry after he died in front of us. Some folks didn’t seem to mind…) So there was certainly no anger in him at either time.
IANAD, but my dad had an aortic aneurysm, and my grandfather died from one bursting. It is a bulge in the blood vessel caused by thinning of the wall. One does not, AFAIK, spontaneously “get” an aneurysm, but they can spontaneously burst. They tracked the one in my dad for a few years, measuring the size and growth. They did not provide any other treatment.
I suppose in some people anger can raise blood pressure, triggering an aneurysm to burst. But sometimes, they just burst because the vessel wall has thinned too much, triggered by no particular event.
A stroke, OTOH, is caused by interruption of blood flow to a vessel in the brain, usually by lodging of a blood clot. AFAIK this has nothing to do with your blood pressure.
Lots of docs on the boards will probably provide more technical info.
Likewise, an increase in blood pressure due to anger can increase the amount of turbulent blood flow resulting in the mobilization of a clot that had been attached to the wall of a large blood vessel or heart valve.
But to me, after one ‘lets off steam’ their blood pressure is lower. However if a person just lets it simmer then they have a constant higher average BP.
Do you have any numbers to back that up? I’m not trying to be snarky, I’m curious, because until we enter the realm of documentation, I would say that my feeling is just the opposite. People who vent their anger and frustrations freely are, IMHO, more likely to be in a relatively constant state of venting*, and hence at a relatively constant elevated level of emotional arousal, which leads to higher b.p. numbers in general as I understand it.
Yes. When I get angry, most folks around me have a stroke or an aneurysm. 
Well I guess the question is ‘Does ‘getting angry/venting’ promote High Blood Pressure?’
People seem to think that but ‘mellow’ people can have high BP. Can non-mellow have low BP?
Anecdotal, but my mother had a massive hemorrhagic stroke while being absolutely furious with my sister. Angrier than I’d ever seen her. I’m not saying the anger caused the stroke - I assume there was a weakness in a vessel. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the anger didn’t hasten the stroke.
StG
The first thing I thought of after reading your OP was, “Oh, your poor sister.”
There are a number of studies to support everyone’s intuition.
Here’s one that indicates that, compared to not being angry, there’s a 14-fold increase in the risk of stroke within two hours of being angry. (NB - as the authors note, this 14X increase is just for the two hour period since the anger).
I have heard that strokes and aneurysms are common on the toilet due to raised blood pressure while straining. Can’t dig up any definitive studies but heres a not unrelated BBC article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1399412.stm
Alas, Poor Yorick, my sister is a self-absorbed woman who never would associate the possibility that she could be responsible for such a thing.
BTW - my mother survived the stroke and recovered almost all her functions. She lost the ability to read (she can still write, though) and her color sense never quite recovered, and she has some other issues with co-ordination, but considering the doctors initially told us to find a nursing home and out her away, she’s done almost miraculously. The doctors who see the MRIs showing the extent of the bleed can’t believe how well she functions. She’s a tough old bird.
StG