Women with high stress at work at an increased risk of heart disease

According to a new U.S. study, women with high job stress have a 40% increased risk of having a heart disease compared with those in less demanding job.

The danger of heart disease was nearly 88% higher in women with sustained on-the-job stress, while the risk of bypass surgery or other procedures, such as balloon angioplasty to open up blocked coronary arteries, was approximately 43% higher.

The study also found that worrying about losing one’s job also raised the likelihood of having heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and higher cholesterol levels — but not actual heart attacks, stroke or death, the researchers noted.

The study involved 17,415 participants in the Women’s Health Study, a long-running trial looking at heart disease and cancer prevention. The women were healthy, 57 years old on average, and had worked full or part-time when the study began in 1999.

The research was presented to the American Heart Association’s annual conference in Chicago.

There are approximately 500,000 heart attack deaths in the U.S. Annually. At least 250,000 people die before they even get to the hospital.

Symptoms of a heart attack may include:

Chest discomfort or pain

Upper body pain

Stomach pain

Shortness of breath

Anxiety

Lightheadedness

Sweating

Nausea and vomiting

It is important to note that many women do not always have chest pain. In the Circulation study on early female heart attack symptoms, researchers discovered that during a heart attack, 43% of the 515 women studied had no “acute chest pain… a ‘hallmark symptom in men,’” according to study authors.