$Unique_ID{BRK00826}
$Pretitle{Ill Defined Symptoms and Rare Diseases}
$Title{Is a Type A Personality a Good Candidate for a Heart Attack?}
$Subject{behavior compulsive Type A}
$Volume{N-23}
$Log{}

Copyright (c) 1991   Tribune Media Services, Inc.


Is a Type A Personality a Good Candidate for a Heart Attack?


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QUESTION:  I'm a Type A personality--I admit it.  In fact, I enjoy the rushing
and competitiveness.  Unfortunately, a friend tells me I'm a good candidate
for a heart attack.  I can't believe this, especially since I feel so good.

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ANSWER:  Some 20 years ago, Drs. Mayer Friedman and Ray Rosenman sketched out
the Type A personality:  someone who does many things at once, takes on too
much work, moves quickly, hates waiting, can't relax, interrupts, angers
easily and is competitive.  Ever since then, cardiology has never been the
same.  This seemingly definitive list has raised as many questions as it
answered:  Why, exactly, would Type A behavior lead to heart attack?  Do some
Type A characteristics count more than others?  And most important, is there
any way a Type A person can reform into a Type B?
     Researchers speculate that it's the high levels of the hormones
adrenaline, cortisol and testosterone found in young Type A men that
contribute over time to a narrowing of the coronary arteries, but this still
is unproven.  Another question mark is whether these hormone changes are a
result of Type A behavior or a cause of it.
     We know more about which Type A characteristics count most heavily.  Some
studies show that hostility and anger are far more reliable predictors of
heart disease than any other Type A characteristics.  This is good news indeed
for people like you who are competitive, hurried and so forth, without being
angry.  It may well be that Type A behavior has its good and its bad
components.
     Even Type A's who are angry may not be headed for heart trouble.
Hostility has been linked with coronary artery disease in younger people only.
The theory here is that the older hostile Type A's are a hardy bunch who have
avoided heart disease while the more vulnerable people in their age group
succumbed to it prematurely.
     Finally, the best news:  it is possible to change Type A behavior through
counseling.  Patients learn that hostility and anger are likely to be harmful
to their hearts and are trained in heading off these negative emotions.  Of
course, if Type A behavior turns out to be the result of hormone imbalances or
other physical causes, counseling will help only temporarily.  Researchers are
now working to discover whether drugs can control Type A behavior, and a few
early experiments have hinted that they can.
ÿ
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The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace 
the counsel and advice of your personal physician.  Promptly consulting your 
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical 
problem.
