Stress at work increases heart attack risk

Stress is not healthy and increases the risk of heart attack in the workplace.

(22.09.2010) Doctors warn: Permanent job stress significantly increases the risk of heart attack. Much of the approximately 300,000 annual heart attacks in Germany are caused by stress. Also, the overall cardiovascular system suffers from the consequences of heavy workloads.

Stress increases the hormone release and makes the heart beat faster
„Stress, among other things, releases more stress hormones, such as adrenaline or cortisol, into the blood“, said Ulrich Hildebrandt, chief physician of the department of cardiology of the clinic St. Irmingard in Prien (Bavaria). What was vital to our ancestors nowadays sometimes has a significant negative impact on our organism. Because „Those who suffer from chronic stress are, so to speak, always under steam“, explained Prof. Karl-Heinz Ladwig from the scientific advisory board of the German Heart Foundation in Frankfurt. By releasing the stress hormones, the autonomic nervous system becomes more irritated, which increases the heart rate permanently. H. makes the heart beat faster and makes the organism physically more powerful in the short term. However, this also involves a considerably higher burden on the heart.

The immune system can also be affected
The sustained increase in the release of stress hormones in the course of the stressful daily routine can also cause hypertension and a nervous bowel. In addition, extremely stressed people suffer more often from infections and poor wound healing, because „another aspect is that the psyche can also affect the body's immune system“, explains Prof. Ladwig.

To distinguish: objective and subjective stress
It is „Stress at work (...) a mixture of objective and subjective parameters“, so Prof. Ladwig. Although the objective stress factors, such as time pressure, persistent noise, many overtime hours and high workload generally increase the risk of heart attack, depending on the personality of the person affected the sensitivity is very different. „It also plays a role in [...] how to respond to these objective factors and if you can try to change them“, stressed Prof. Ladwig. In this connection, however, it is essential to recognize that the stressors of the employees are primarily the result of objective factors and that the burdensome pressure is not just created in the mind.

Prevention: sports and relaxation training against stress
However, objective stress factors do not necessarily trigger a heart attack or other heart disease, because „You can preventively try to reduce the stress a bit“, said Prof. Jochen Jordan from the German Society of Cardiology. Instead of putting yourself under permanent pressure „you should ask yourself: 'Is such a working style worth it? Do I want to live like this? '“ explains the recognized psychosomatist. Because those who stress less, spares their own cardiovascular system. For stress management and prevention of a heart attack, regular exercise or sports can be extremely helpful. Because while sweating „The stress hormones, such as adrenaline, can be flushed out of the body“, emphasized Prof. Jordan and recommends that you spend about three hours per week on endurance sports: „This can be cycling, jogging or walking.“ In addition, according to the expert, people at risk of stress often also help with conscious relaxation training with the aim of lowering their heart rate and blood pressure. „Techniques that promote the parasympathetic system, that is, what provides rest and relaxation - for example, yoga, Thai chi, or listening to relaxation music“, are in this context recommended by Prof. Jordan.

One in five is already suffering from stress symptoms
According to reports of the business magazine "Wirtschaftswoche", one out of every five Germans has symptoms of stress, whereby in particular the burden on the work is hard to bear for many. After surveys on physical and mental stress in the various professions, the Federal Statistical Office comes to the conclusion that some activities are susceptible to stress on their own. For example, occupations with night work and shift work, due to their effects on biorhythms, are disproportionately responsible for stress symptoms among employees. „Even jobs where you drive a lot, represent a risk for heart disease“, explained Prof. Jordan. According to the Federal Statistical Office, representatives, bus drivers, taxi drivers and truck drivers are particularly at risk because they are often very tense when driving a car for a long time and can not properly reduce the stress afterwards. In addition, persons in fixed-term employment contracts or temporary employment contracts often suffer from stress symptoms because they not only burden their daily work, but also lack the professional future prospects.

Reduce objective stress, counter subjective stress with appropriate methods
Since stress in the workplace not only significantly increases the risk of heart attack but also causes a tremendous increase in absenteeism due to illness, experts such as Prof. Jordan and Prof. Ladwig strongly advise employers to also reduce the objective burden of stress in the workplace , In addition, every affected person should strive to find suitable methods for themselves, which help to reduce the subjective feeling of stress. (Fp)

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