Having a hot temper may increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke, according to researchers.

 

Rage often precedes an attack and may be the trigger, say the US researchers who trawled medical literature.

 

They identified a dangerous period of about two hours following an outburst when people were at heightened risk.

 

But they say more work is needed to understand the link and find out if stress-busting strategies could avoid such complications.

People who have existing risk factors, such as a history of heart disease, are particularly susceptible, they told the European Heart Journal.