According to a study released today, people who tend to be confrontational, especially those who are competitive and aggressive, run a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Researchers with the National Institute on Aging examined 5,614 residents of four villages in Sardinia, an Italian Mediterranean island. The research found people who classed themselves as aggressive on a standard personality test were more likely to suffer from thickening of the neck arteries than those who were classed as affable or accommodating. Thickening of the arteries is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke, note the authors of the study which appeared in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.