July 26, 2012
Workers must look after their hearts to help shift
increased risk
Shift work is associated with an increased risk of a heart
attack or stroke, according to the findings of new research.
Analysing the results of dozens of studies
involving more than two million people,
researchers looked at the health impact of evening shifts,
irregular or unspecified shifts, mixed schedules, night shifts and
rotating shifts. They compared the findings with non-shift workers
and the general population.
Their findings showed heart attacks and strokes were more common among shift workers
and shift work was associated with a 23 per cent increased
risk of a heart attack and a 5 per cent increased risk of
a stroke.
Night shifts were associated
with the steepest increase in risk for coronary events.
Whether you work nights, evenings or regular office hours, eating healthily, getting active and quitting smoking can make a big difference
Ellen Mason, our Senior
Cardiac Nurse, said: “Although the associated increased risk to an
individual shift worker was relatively small, many Brits don’t work
nine to five and so these findings become
much more
significant.
“Whether you work nights, evenings or regular
office hours, eating healthily, getting active and quitting smoking can make a big difference to
your heart health. Anyone over 40 in England should take advantage
of a free NHS health check which will examine
blood pressure, cholesterol levels and BMI.
“We also need to raise awareness in the
workplace about the signs and symptoms
of a heart attack or stroke and urge everybody to call 999 at the
first sign of trouble.”
Our free Health at
Work programme recognises the importance of keeping the
nation’s workers heart healthy. The scheme helps employers get
their workforce fit and healthy through a range of simple
tools and resources.
A recent survey from the charity
showed around one in three UK workers think their boss
doesn’t care about their happiness and wellbeing in
the workplace. More than two thirds also claim their
organisation doesn’t offer any opportunities to get fit and
healthy.
And almost a fifth of employees rate
their daily stress levels as seven out of ten or
above.
The study was published in the British
Medical Journal.