Antagonistic people 'have higher stroke risk'

People with an antagonistic nature harbour a greater risk of having a stroke later in life, according to a new study.

An article in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association has found that people deemed to be "less agreeable" have a 40 per cent higher chance of experiencing a thickening of artery walls.

This naturally leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease such as stroke and heart attack.

Researchers for the US National Institute on Ageing surveyed more than 5,000 Italians, with people who tend to be more competitive or aggressive at a higher risk of stroke, according to lead author Dr Angelina Sutin.

"People may learn to control their anger and learn ways to express anger in more socially acceptable ways," she added.

Every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke, equating to more than 150,000 people each year, according to research from the Stroke Association.

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