Bullying or belittling your spouse might give her or him a fatal heart attack, according to new research that concludes unfair treatment increases the risk of heart attacks and chest pain.

Based on a survey of more than 8,000 British civil servants, the study found that those who strongly or moderately agreed with the statement, "I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly" were 55 per cent more likely to have a fatal or non-fatal heart attack or angina (squeezing, suffocating chest pain due to damaged or blocked arteries).

Researchers have conducted nearly 11 years of follow-up.

The finding held after researchers factored in age and gender as well as traditional risk factors, such as high cholesterol and blood pressure. It also held after hostility and other "personality traits" were considered -- meaning these were not just people whining that they're unappreciated.

None of the participants had signs of heart disease when the study started.

"Unfairness is an independent predictor of increased coronary events and impaired health functioning," the team reported today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Job strain and tyrannical bosses had already been shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, at least among men. The new study, which involved both sexes, is believed to be the first to consider unfair treatment in all areas of life, including jobs, family, intimate relationships and society in general.

"Obviously, we're talking about repeated acts of injustices or repeated experiences of unfairness in life that can become like a stress burden," said lead author Dr. Roberto De Vogli, who's with the International Institute for Society and Health at University College London.

That could include feeling coerced, insulted or bullied by a partner, he said.

Socrates suggested it makes people happier to suffer an injustice than to commit one. The new study suggests it might also kill you.

"I think that to treat people fairly in interpersonal relationships is an important aspect of health -- not only mental health but also physical health," said De Vogli.

A separate study released today suggests that, in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, the more people with coronary artery disease worry about dying or having a heart attack, the more likely they will.

Harvard Medical School researchers found that among 516 people with coronary artery disease, those with the highest anxiety scores based on an annual questionnaire about their feelings during the previous week ("feeling peaceful," "feeling something bad will happen") had nearly twice the risk of heart attack or death compared to mellower patients over a five-year period.

People whose anxiety levels were low at the study outset but whose anxiety increased over the follow-up period did significantly worse, even compared to those whose anxiety scores started off high and stayed high. The highly anxious who found "inner calm" reduced their risk of heart attack and death.

In the fairness study, 5,726 men and 2,572 women aged 35 to 55 from 20 civil service departments in London were questioned. There were 528 cases of fatal and non-fatal heart attack and angina after an average 10.9 years follow up.

Overall, just under 3,000 people felt they were unfairly treated. Among the 966 who reported feeling low levels of unfairness, 64 had a coronary event.

By contrast, 51 out of 567 in the "high" categories had a heart attack or angina. Of the 1,368 people who reported "moderate" unfairness, 98 had a heart attack.