Bad attitude may be bad for the heart.

The more hostility people show in their behavior and attitudes, the more likely they are to have calcium deposits in the arteries of their hearts, a new study finds. Such calcium deposits are early signs of atherosclerosis, also called hardened arteries, which can lead to high blood pressure and heart attacks.

Researchers led by Carlos Iribarren of Kaiser Permanente's research division in Oakland, Calif., divided 376 men and women aged 18 to 30 into two groups according to assessments of their hostility. Volunteers were characterized as hostile if they had a cynical view of the world and aggressive responses to stressful situations.

The more hostile participants were two and a half times more likely than the less hostile participants to have calcium deposits in their heart arteries. The hostile subjects were also more than nine times as likely to have enough calcium deposits in their arteries to indicate the beginnings of fatty plaques, hallmarks of atherosclerosis, says Iribarren.

The link between hostility and the early signs of heart disease held true even after the researchers took into account differences in education, weight, smoking, and blood pressure. Since the study participants were relatively young, few showed even early signs of heart disease, so larger and longer studies are needed to strengthen the link, Iribarren says.