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American Morning

Paging Dr. Gupta: Are You a Type-A Personality?

Aired November 20, 2002 - 08:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Are you impatient? Do you have a short fuse? Have you been told what's being called a type-A personality truly belongs to you? If that is the case, you might be running an increased risk of high blood pressure, even if you are still young.
We turn to the ever-calm voice of Dr. Sanjay Gupta to tell you more on this.

Great to see you. Yes, look at you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Outer calm, inner turmoil.

HEMMER: I like that.

GUPTA: What is it about being overly anxious, overly earnest, overly zealous that might cause a problem? We've known for a long time that could be a problem, but what about it specifically causes the problem, and how problematic is it? We decided to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): We face it everyday, feeling rushed to meet a deadline.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, I know.

GUPTA: Arriving late for an appointment, fighting being impatience as we wait.

So what is this hurry-up life style doing to our blood pressure? Ask Matt Sicinski. He knows.

MATT SICINSKI, HYPERTENSION PATIENT: It sounds like a freight train rushing or water rushing, and that's just -- you know, those are all signs I know that my blood pressure is up.

GUPTA: Up to a dangerous 160 over 100 at just 30 years old. High end of normal is 120 over 80.

Researcher Linjingh Yan looked at the effect of something called time urgency impatience. It's a subtype of something more familiar, type-A personality.

LINJINGH YAN, NORTHWESTERN UNIV.: The higher the tendency of time urgency and impatience, the higher the risk of developing hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the teen years that we follow them.

GUPTA: Followed more than 3,000 study participants in their 20s and 30s, rating their time urgently and impatient levels by asking these four questions: Do you get very upset when you have to have to wait for anything? Do you often eat too quickly? Do you usually feel pressed for time by the end of the workday? Do you feel pressured for time in general?

SICINSKI: Pressed for time, yes, is usually how I feel, like I live my day.

GUPTA: Simply put, if you're like Matt Sicinski and you answer yes, the four characteristics describe you very well, you're twice as likely to develop hypertension compared to those who answered no.

And what happens if that hypertension goes untreated?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm afraid to say that those are the type of people that develop strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure at an early age.

GUPTA: For his part, Sicinski has lost 70 pounds, takes his anti-hypertension medications and believes he generally has a healthy lifestyle. But he admits it's as time urgency impatience that needs to be treated now.

SICINSKI: We are going to be late, and I hate being late.

GUPTA: Biofeedback or perhaps severe anxiety medications in severe cases may be part of an overall hypertension treatment. It's important, because working on impatience is something that just can't wait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: People occasionally get upset when they are late in traffic or they're waiting in a long line. We're talking about people over 15 years living their lives like this and answering yes to those questions on the screen. Everyone gets upset, even you, Bill Hemmer, every now and then.

HEMMER: Only you.

GUPTA: But we're talking about people with chronic behavior patterns like this that might actually benefit from recognizing that.

HEMMER: I think it's really interesting. I would think overcome it, you almost have to train your mind to slow it down.

GUPTA: That's right. What I find fascinating is we know how to treat hypertension. We've known that for a long time. There are good medications out there. But if the root cause of the hypertension is something more behavioral, should we be looking at behavioral therapy, or looking at antianxiety medications, biofeedback as possible treatment options as part of an entire treatment program, but as possible options as well to treat hypertension. HEMMER: Fifteen seconds -- you put a list of four things up there if you qualify, check this out and answer yes or no. How do you avoid that stuff?

GUPTA: Right, and that's the question. I think some people are just literally programmed that way, there's no question about it. But the other part of it is if you recognize those things can lead to serious health consequences down the line, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, all of those sorts of things, you might be less likely -- or more likely, I should say, more calmer during the day.

HEMMER: You have a calm day. Thank you.

GUPTA: I certainly will. As always.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 20, 2002 - 08:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Are you impatient? Do you have a short fuse? Have you been told what's being called a type-A personality truly belongs to you? If that is the case, you might be running an increased risk of high blood pressure, even if you are still young.
We turn to the ever-calm voice of Dr. Sanjay Gupta to tell you more on this.

Great to see you. Yes, look at you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Outer calm, inner turmoil.

HEMMER: I like that.

GUPTA: What is it about being overly anxious, overly earnest, overly zealous that might cause a problem? We've known for a long time that could be a problem, but what about it specifically causes the problem, and how problematic is it? We decided to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): We face it everyday, feeling rushed to meet a deadline.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, I know.

GUPTA: Arriving late for an appointment, fighting being impatience as we wait.

So what is this hurry-up life style doing to our blood pressure? Ask Matt Sicinski. He knows.

MATT SICINSKI, HYPERTENSION PATIENT: It sounds like a freight train rushing or water rushing, and that's just -- you know, those are all signs I know that my blood pressure is up.

GUPTA: Up to a dangerous 160 over 100 at just 30 years old. High end of normal is 120 over 80.

Researcher Linjingh Yan looked at the effect of something called time urgency impatience. It's a subtype of something more familiar, type-A personality.

LINJINGH YAN, NORTHWESTERN UNIV.: The higher the tendency of time urgency and impatience, the higher the risk of developing hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the teen years that we follow them.

GUPTA: Followed more than 3,000 study participants in their 20s and 30s, rating their time urgently and impatient levels by asking these four questions: Do you get very upset when you have to have to wait for anything? Do you often eat too quickly? Do you usually feel pressed for time by the end of the workday? Do you feel pressured for time in general?

SICINSKI: Pressed for time, yes, is usually how I feel, like I live my day.

GUPTA: Simply put, if you're like Matt Sicinski and you answer yes, the four characteristics describe you very well, you're twice as likely to develop hypertension compared to those who answered no.

And what happens if that hypertension goes untreated?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm afraid to say that those are the type of people that develop strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure at an early age.

GUPTA: For his part, Sicinski has lost 70 pounds, takes his anti-hypertension medications and believes he generally has a healthy lifestyle. But he admits it's as time urgency impatience that needs to be treated now.

SICINSKI: We are going to be late, and I hate being late.

GUPTA: Biofeedback or perhaps severe anxiety medications in severe cases may be part of an overall hypertension treatment. It's important, because working on impatience is something that just can't wait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: People occasionally get upset when they are late in traffic or they're waiting in a long line. We're talking about people over 15 years living their lives like this and answering yes to those questions on the screen. Everyone gets upset, even you, Bill Hemmer, every now and then.

HEMMER: Only you.

GUPTA: But we're talking about people with chronic behavior patterns like this that might actually benefit from recognizing that.

HEMMER: I think it's really interesting. I would think overcome it, you almost have to train your mind to slow it down.

GUPTA: That's right. What I find fascinating is we know how to treat hypertension. We've known that for a long time. There are good medications out there. But if the root cause of the hypertension is something more behavioral, should we be looking at behavioral therapy, or looking at antianxiety medications, biofeedback as possible treatment options as part of an entire treatment program, but as possible options as well to treat hypertension. HEMMER: Fifteen seconds -- you put a list of four things up there if you qualify, check this out and answer yes or no. How do you avoid that stuff?

GUPTA: Right, and that's the question. I think some people are just literally programmed that way, there's no question about it. But the other part of it is if you recognize those things can lead to serious health consequences down the line, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, all of those sorts of things, you might be less likely -- or more likely, I should say, more calmer during the day.

HEMMER: You have a calm day. Thank you.

GUPTA: I certainly will. As always.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com