Anger is bad for your health in more ways than you think. Getting angry doesn’t just hurt our mental health, it’s also damaging to our hearts, brains, and gastrointestinal systems, according to doctors and research.

For instance, one study in the Journal of the American Heart Association looked at anger’s effects on the heart. It found that anger can raise the risk of heart attacks because it impairs the functioning of blood vessels.

Researchers examined the impact of three different emotions on the heart: anger, anxiety, and sadness. One participant group did a task that made them angry, another did a task that made them anxious, while a third did an exercise designed to induce sadness.

The scientists then tested the functioning of the blood vessels in each participant, using a blood pressure cuff to squeeze and release the blood flow in the arm. Those in the angry group had worse blood flow than those in the others; their blood vessels didn’t dilate as much.

The lead author of the study said, “We speculate over time if you’re getting these chronic insults to your arteries because you get angry a lot, that will leave you at risk for having heart disease.”