Heavy Exercise + Anger = A Deadly Combination

The next time you're piping mad, cool off a bit before hitting the gym. A new study shows anger plus heavy exercise can be a deadly combination.

"When angry, they shouldn't be involving themselves in extreme physical exertion. You don't get angry, furious, and then chop a stack of wood," Barry Jacobs, a psychologist at Crozer-Keystone Health System said.

The Canadian study examined more than 12,000 people, mostly men, with an average age of 58.

The study showed that being very angry doubled their risk of heart attack. Extreme physical exertion also doubled their heart attack risk. But combine the two and it triples.

"The authors of the study point out quite correctly that regular physical exercise is extremely important for heart health and for general health. They're not talking about regular physical exercise; they're talking about extreme physical exertion, especially when accompanied by extreme anger," Jacobs explained.

The research shows the heart attack usually happens within an hour of the angry exercise and most often occurs between 6 p.m. and midnight.

"Those two things together triple the risk for someone to have a heart attack, especially if you're middle-aged, if you have cardiac risk factors. People need to be careful," Jacobs warned.

So, for better heart health, learn to control your anger and stick to regular exercise.