High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) From Stress at Work – Workers Comp Lawyer

High blood pressure puts individuals at a higher risk of stroke, heart attack, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, and even death.

High blood pressure affects around a third of American adults. Patients of high blood pressure are at a high risk of stroke, heart attack, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, and even death.

Hypertension can be a result of a number of factors including lack of physical activity, obesity, and stress. According to the American Psychological Association, a large percentage of Americans admit that their jobs are a significant source of stress. Work-related stress can lead to obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and poor diet. All these are risk factors for heart diseases, diabetes, hypertension and a variety of other illnesses.

What Is Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)?

According to Mayo Clinic, high blood pressure is “a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems such as heart disease.” In most cases, the patient experiences no symptoms unless he/she suffered from a serious form of hypertension known as malignant hypertension. Most people get diagnosed during a routine medical exam.

There is another form of hypertension known as secondary hypertension, which is a result of an underlying condition such kidney problems, congenital defects in blood vessels, illegal drugs such as amphetamines, certain medications including cold remedies, over the counter pain relievers, and birth control pills.

Most patients of hypertension suffer from what is known as essential hypertension, which develops slowly over a long period of time. There are several risk factors that contribute to hypertension including obesity or being overweight, poor diet, lack of physical activity and of course, stress.

Job-Related Stress and Hypertension

According to the American Psychological Association, 75 percent of the Americans claim that their job is a significant source of stress. The association also says that prolonged workplace stress can adversely affect workers’ health.

Constant preoccupation with work-related responsibilities do not leave enough time for physical activities and leads to erratic eating habits. This can cause weight problems, elevated cholesterol levels, and hypertension. Common causes of workplace stress include a hostile work environment, long work hours, low rewards, and others. These stressors can increase the risk of heart ailments including heart attacks. The risk is particularly high among manual workers and blue-collar workers because they have little control over their work environments.