Hostility and CHD

What else explains the connection between hostility and CHD? One possibility is that hostile people are less health-conscious. They tend to smoke more, consume more caffeine and alcohol, exercise less, sleep less, and eat less healthy foods. They are also less likely to comply with advice from doctors. A second explanation is that hostile people are physiologically reactive, so in intense social situations they exhibit greater increases in blood pressure, pulse rate, and adrenaline, a hormone that accelerates the buildup of fatty plaques on the artery walls, causing hardening of the arteries. In fact, people who are hostile exhibit more intense cardiovascular reactions not only during the event that makes them angry but long after- ward as well when asked to relive the event.