Major Study Examines Relationship of Cardiovascular Events and Job Stress for Women

Most studies of job stress and heart disease have focused on men. But a new study conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston finds that women with jobs that are stressful are more likely than other women to experience a negative cardiovascular event.

The study examined data from more than 22,000 women over a 10-year period. The women had an average age of 57. The women were asked to fill out a questionnaire on job strain. The results showed that women who had a high level of job stress were 38 percent more likely than women with low-stress jobs to experience a heart attack, stroke, or need angioplasty or bypass surgery.

Michelle A. Albert, a cardiologist and researcher at BWH and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, stated, “Our study indicates that high job strain can negatively affect your health. There are immediate and definite long-term, clinically documented cardiovascular health effects of job strain in women, and it is important for women and their health care providers to pay attention to the stresses of their job.”

Dr. Albert is a graduate of Haverford College. She earned her medical degree at the University of Rochester and holds a master of public health degree from Harvard University.