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Home » Cardio-Vascular

Coronary Heart Disease Risk Linked To Long Work Hours

By dsorbello at Aug. 10, 2011, 4:41 a.m., 17138 hits

By Cory Birkett on Jun 09, 2011

How many hours do you work? That’s one question many doctors don’t ask, but they should. Those long hours you are putting in at the office may be killing you, literally. According to a new study, if you work an average of 11 or more hours per day, you have a whopping 67 percent higher risk of suffering from a heart attack than those who work a standard seven- to eight-hour day. While you may hope that those long workdays will pay off with career advancement and higher pay, your diligence may be undermining your health in the long run.

Coronary heart disease, a condition that causes the blood vessels to the heart to narrow, is the biggest cause of death in the United States. Work schedules may have been overlooked as a potential early warning sign for heart disease, the researchers say. At the conclusion of the study, an astounding 67 percent of the people with heart trouble came from the minority (10 percent) that had a history of working 11 or more hours a day. All other factors considered (age, sex, cholesterol, smoking habits, blood pressure), this group was not at a higher risk for heart problems. The risk score for cardiac disease steadily increased for a person working more than an eight-hour workday.

The research supports the importance of doctors considering the number of hours an individual works in addition to looking at his cholesterol, blood pressure, exercise and family history when assessing risks for cardiovascular disease. Just a simple question about how may hours a patient works at a routine doctor visit could identify an additional five percent of the people who are at risk for heart disease.

Not enough research has been done yet to determine if long working hours in the absence of other risk factors contribute to heart disease, or whether they act as a “marker” for other factors that can harm heart health. Working long hours may also be an indicator of an unhealthy lifestyle in general. Bad habits such as eating fast food, not exercising, not getting enough sleep, and increased stress are all factors that could go hand in hand with long work hours.

While determining risk factors for heart disease involves multiple factors, this new research adds another piece of the bigger picture for medical professionals in helping patients maintain cardiovascular health. At the very least, it’s a good reason to stick to the old saying “everything in moderation” – even work hours.

Read more at FYI Living: http://fyiliving.com/health-news/the-lifesaving-question-doctors-forget-to-ask/#ixzz1PFSr55zu

 
Posts [ 1 ] | Last post Aug. 10, 2011, 4:41 a.m.
#1 - Aug. 10, 2011, 4:41 a.m.
Erich

Working long days could increase heart disease risk,” according to the Daily Mirror, which says that “extra hours can increase the risk of heart attack by 67%”.

This news is based on a study that followed 7,095 British civil servants for over 10 years, examining how their working hours related to their risk of having a heart attack. Over the course of the study, 192 experienced a heart attack, with those working over 11 hours per day being 67% more likely to experience one than people working 7 to 8 hours. When the researchers used working hour data to modify an established model for predicting heart attacks, the predictive accuracy of the process was also improved.

This was a well-conducted study but it was carried out in only a single group of low-risk workers, meaning its findings do not apply to the British population as a whole. Also, it is not clear exactly how long working hours might increase the risk of heart attack, as it could be a result of numerous factors such as stress, associated unhealthy lifestyle choices or even working long hours themselves. This technique has shown some merit, but further research will need to test it in other groups and to explore why long hours might lead to a heart attack.