This year, over 700,000 Americans will suffer a heart attack. Many of these will occur in the workplace. Work related stress can play a significant contributing role in these events. Unfortunately, emotional stress is very subjective and often difficult to quantify. Everyone knows “stress is bad for your heart,” but we now have a large body of scientific literature showing a very strong association between job strain and cardiovascular events. The cardiovascular risk from job strain appears to occur independently of other stressors in one’s life. A careful and thorough review of an individual’s work-related duties allows a better understanding of this risk, and is vital to making recommendations for worker’s compensation benefits, disability claims, and returning to work.
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