Grumpy people are more likely to have bad heart health

A study has linked personality traits such as anxiety and irritability with early signs of heart ageing.

Experts at Queen Mary University of London looked at heart scans of over 36,000 people and found that those with "neurotic" personality traits – such as excessive worrying and unstable moods - were more likely to have "smaller, poorer functioning ventricles with lower LV (left ventricular) mass and higher arterial stiffness".

Steffen Petersen, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the university, said: "We know there are important links between mental health and cardiovascular outcomes, and our study has uncovered that harmful changes to the heart are seen in people with neurotic personality traits such as anxiety, depression and excessive worrying.

"Even when lifestyle factors, like smoking, weight and age, are taken into consideration, neurotic traits appear to be linked to signs of heart ageing."

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