HHS HealthBeat (December 13, 2010)

Stressed women’s hearts

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Lots of job strain can be bad for a woman’s heart. Researchers saw it in more than 10 years of data on more than 17,400 women. At Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Michelle A. Albert says high job stress includes things like having a lot of demands on you but little control over how to meet the demands.

``Women who had high job strain compared with women who had low job strain had increased risk of heart disease events.’’ (6 seconds)

Albert says people can minimize stress’ effects by being physically active, having a supportive social network, dedicating time daily to relax, and not taking work home.

The study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011