Is Job Stress Bad For Your Heart Health?

Is your job stressing you out? And worse–is it damaging your health?

A study was published recently to show that women with more job stress have higher rates of heart disease. “Women who had high-strain jobs had a 40% higher likelihood of having a cardiovascular event compared to women who were in the low-strain category,” say the researchers.

It’s important to note that this study found an association, not a causal relationship. Meaning, there may be other variables at play. But even so…it does make you think. To me, it makes intuitive sense. I write a lot about the connection between stress and health.

There are many sources of stress in our busy lives, but workplace stress is a particularly troublesome brand. I see a lot of it in my patients. But job stress is not just for investment bankers and corporate lawyers. Some of the most stressful jobs, as ranked in this study, carry high demands but low control. Take a factory worker, for example, with great pressure for production quotas but near-zero autonomy.

So…what do you think? How much stress do you have in your job? Think it’s hurting your health?

Want to read more about heart disease? Go here, next.

Want to read more about stress management? Here, next.