Is Your Job Hurting Your Heart?
Job stress may increase your risk of heart disease, especially if you’re a man.
Stress is a known risk factor for heart disease. Chronic stress can result in high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, as well as inflammation in the body. This can increase your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar. But while any kind of stress can be harmful, work-related stress may really be doing a number on your heart.
Several factors at work can impact your heart disease risk. People who are worried about losing their jobs are nearly 20 percent more likely to have heart disease than people who are secure in their jobs. But worrying about losing your job isn’t the only factor at work that affects heart health. It turns out that even if you like your job and feel secure in your position, you may be stressed due to factors like trying to balance work and home life, feeling competition at work or not feeling your efforts are sufficiently rewarded.
Men are especially prone to the effects of work stress – and that effect is compounded when they feel there is an imbalance between the effort they put in and the reward they receive. According to a recent study published in an American Heart Association journal, men who experience job stress and feel they put forth high effort but receive low rewards had twice the risk of heart disease as those who did not experience those stressors. This raised their risk of heart disease as much as being obese. The same effects were not seen in women, however.