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Extreme Anger, Stroke. Prescribed Lexapro. Can Anger Be The Cause For Stroke?

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Posted on Wed, 11 Jul 2012
Question: Can anger cause a hemorraghic stroke? My husband has had two of these strokes and doctors are unable to pinpoint a reason. He does not have high blood pressure, a weakness of the blood vessels or AVM or any inflammation. He does however seem to be suffering from a suppressed anger of an indeterminate cause. He gets angry if anyone disagrees with him. His angry outbursts seem to be extreme overreactions. This is totally out of character for him. I've mentioned the anger to his doctors and his cardiologist put him on 10 milligrams of Lexapro. The neurologist seems to ignore my input.
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Answered by Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar (1 hour later)
Hi,

Sudden reactions to startling events could trigger stroke through effects on blood circulation or an excessive response by the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates body functions such as heart rate or blood pressure.

A study conducted on 200 patients found that anger and negative emotions can cause stroke. Approximately 30% of the participants had a triggering factors just 2 hours before the event which include anger, negative emotions such as fear, irritability, or nervousness, or sudden changes in body position in response to a startling event during the two hours before the stroke.The study participants, who had an average age of 68. According to the study, exposure to a potential trigger could increase the risk of stroke by as much as 14 times during the two-hour period immediately following exposure.

It's possible that brief episodes of mental stress cause transient changes in blood clotting and in the function of cells lining blood vessels. It is also learnt that our study does not assess the cumulative risk related to exposures to potential triggers but short-term risks during the two-hour period immediately following exposures.

Since it is a small study it may not be agreed by many Neurologists, though it is published by American Academy of Neurology.

May your husband recover soon. You have to pull all your plans and spirits for his recovery. You have a greater role in his recovery.

Let me know if you need any more assistance, else you may close our discussion here and rate my answer.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
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Answered by
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Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2004

Answered : 2242 Questions

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Extreme Anger, Stroke. Prescribed Lexapro. Can Anger Be The Cause For Stroke?

Hi,

Sudden reactions to startling events could trigger stroke through effects on blood circulation or an excessive response by the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates body functions such as heart rate or blood pressure.

A study conducted on 200 patients found that anger and negative emotions can cause stroke. Approximately 30% of the participants had a triggering factors just 2 hours before the event which include anger, negative emotions such as fear, irritability, or nervousness, or sudden changes in body position in response to a startling event during the two hours before the stroke.The study participants, who had an average age of 68. According to the study, exposure to a potential trigger could increase the risk of stroke by as much as 14 times during the two-hour period immediately following exposure.

It's possible that brief episodes of mental stress cause transient changes in blood clotting and in the function of cells lining blood vessels. It is also learnt that our study does not assess the cumulative risk related to exposures to potential triggers but short-term risks during the two-hour period immediately following exposures.

Since it is a small study it may not be agreed by many Neurologists, though it is published by American Academy of Neurology.

May your husband recover soon. You have to pull all your plans and spirits for his recovery. You have a greater role in his recovery.

Let me know if you need any more assistance, else you may close our discussion here and rate my answer.