Men who stifle anger about work-related issues increase their risk for heart attack or death, according to a Swedish study reported by Reuters.

From 1992 to 2003, researchers from the Stress Research Institute of Stockholm University monitored 2,755 employed men without a history of heart attacks. Of that group, 47 participants suffered a heart attack or died of heart disease at the end of the study.

Scientists said that many of these men responded to unfair treatment at work using a “covertly coping” technique (bottling up their frustrations). That technique resulted in the men having a five times greater chance of developing heart disease than those who voiced their displeasure about the unfair treatment.

“There was a close-response relationship between covert coping and the risk of incident myocardial infraction or cardiac death,” wrote authors of the study, which was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
 
Researchers didn’t offer specific coping mechanisms to work-related anger, but they recommended “protesting directly,” “talking to the person right away,” “yelling at the person right away” or “speaking to the person later when things have calmed down” as healthy alternatives to covert coping.

Learn how lifestyle changes can improve your heart health here.