A new study has found a strong link between workplace stress and the development of atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib, a serious heart condition that can lead to heart disease and strokes. Job strain is defined as suffering from demands including a heavy workload, tight deadlines, and little control over job duties. Effort-reward imbalance refers to employees perceiving the work they perform as not adequately rewarded by pay, job security, or recognition.
The people who reported that they suffered from job strain were 83 percent more likely to develop AFib than those who did not, according to the study results. Also, workers who said they experienced effort-reward imbalance were 44 percent more likely to contract AFib. Employees who complained of both forms of stress had a 97 percent higher rate of AFib than those who did not complain of workplace stress.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Hospital Research Center of Québec‐Université Laval Research, Québec City, Canada. “Workers are in a state of harmful imbalance when high efforts come with low reward and thus more susceptible to health problems,” the researchers wrote. AFib is the most common type of arrhythmia, an abnormal heartbeat in time or force.
It affects about 3 to 6 million Americans each year, with about 450,000 hospitalizations. In that previous study, which included 2,156 participants, Trudel’s research team successfully reduced workplace stressors by implementing strategies such as slowing down project timelines, offering flexible work hours, and fostering open communication between managers and employees. They noted that exposure to these stressors “is known to activate the autonomic nervous system,” which controls involuntary bodily processes.
Other systems affected by stress include the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; the main stress response system in the body, as well as systems that involve the kidneys, which regulate blood pressure. Workplace-related stress often starts as digestive problems such as ulcers and heartburn, as well as psychiatric issues including depression and anxiety, Dr. Karl Benzio, a psychiatrist and co-founder of a Florida residential treatment center, told The Epoch Times.
“Stress stimulates our fight or flight response and helps us immediately navigate a stressor,” Benzio said. “But we secrete cortisol and adrenaline, which causes inflammation that is toxic to our cells. Also, the extra work it causes our heart and vascular system takes its toll when it happens so frequently and intensely.
” The sustained elevation of these stress hormones can lead to increased heart rate, blood pressure, and inflammation, all of which add strain on the heart and blood vessels over time. When people find themselves in high-stress situations, blood pressure and heart rate increase. The study only included white-collar workers, including those in office, professional, and managerial positions.
That means the conclusions “may be limited to workers sharing similar occupations.” The relationship between work stressors and AFib in blue-collar workers should be studied in the future, the researchers noted. “Previous evidence suggests that blue‐collar workers have a higher prevalence of exposure to job strain and that the adverse effect of job strain on cardiovascular outcomes is of higher magnitude in this particular population.
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