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A simple workplace intervention can reduce
the impact of stress on the heart, said researchers of a study
published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
According to the study, office workers who
faced layoffs, a major stress-inducer, were able to achieve small, but
significant changes in heart rate variability and a small decrease in
arterial blood pressure byparticipating in a stress management program
at work.
Dr. Massimo Pagani, senior author of the
study and professor of medicine at the University of Milan in Italy,
said that job-related stress is one of several factors that may
increase the risk of heart attack. By addressing stress "at work, where
stress occurs, rather than in a clinic, we may be able to prevent these
workers from becoming patients."
After evaluating 91 office workers at a
company which was downsizing its workforce by 10 percent compared to 79
healthy volunteers, who worked outside of the company and reported no
work-related stress, the workers at the former company had
significantly higher stress and tiredness scores than controls. Workers
also reported more stress-related symptoms such as difficulty sleeping,
pounding of the heart or gastrointestinal problems.
After a baseline assessment, the workers
were offered the opportunity to participate in weekly, one-hour stress
management sessions during lunch breaks or in a passive program that
offered articles and monthly e-mails on stress reduction techniques.
Participants in the passive program also had
access to services offered by the company’s medical
department. The weekly stress management sessions focused on mental
relaxation techniques, as well as cognitive restructuring exercises and
coping skills to face life stressors — including work-related
stress.
Twenty-six of the 91 stressed employees
signed up for the stress management sessions and 25 signed up for the
passive stress management program.
After a year the stress management program
induced a significant, small reduction in arterial pressure, Pagani
said. "And we were able to achieve these results in a working
environment, without impinging on productivity, and with zero cost to
the company.
"Our study provides a potential model for
the assessment of work-related stress at an individual level and
suggests that stress management programs can be implemented at the
worksite. These programs can reduce stress symptom levels, revert
stress-related autonomic nervous system dysregulation, and lower
resting arterial pressure. The practical long-term impact of this
approach on symptoms, well-being and health of interested workers
requires further specific longitudinal studies on large populations."
Address: The American Heart Association
National Center, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231; (800)
242-8721, www.americanheart.org.
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