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Italian study finds personality linked to a thickening of neck artery wall

MONDAY, Aug. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Hostile people, especially those who are manipulative and aggressive, may be paying a price in terms of heart health, a new study finds.

These types of people showed a thickening in the walls of their neck arteries tied to a 40 percent higher risk of having the artery narrow. And that could boost their risk for cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke, the researchers concluded.

"The public is often worried about stress, but sometime it's how our personalities interact with stress that can have an effect on health," noted Dr. Ralph Sacco, president of the American Heart Association and chairman of neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He was not involved in the study.

"Knowledge is the first step to making behavior change," he added. "If there are things that we know, in terms of stress and antagonism, it may help change people's behavior if they know it's related to vascular risk."