A combination of hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, and a physically demanding job can lead to deadly consequences for women in particular, a recent study found.
For this research, the team analyzed data taken from the Danish Nurse Cohort Study that involved 12,093 female nurses between the ages of 45 and 64. All of the nurses filled out a questionnaire that gathered information on their physical activity levels during work, blood pressure history and other factors that can contribute to ischemic heart disease (IHD). Overall, 580 women developed IHD at the 15-year follow-up.
The researchers found that hypertensive nurses who reported the highest levels of physical labor had tripled the risk of IHD than normotensive nurses who reported a moderate level of physical labor.
Nurses with normal blood pressure who reported moderate to high physical activity levels at work had a slight increased risk of heart disease. Although this increase was not statistically significant, the researchers noted that more research should be conducted to further examine this link.
"The present results calls for future studies with more statistical power to answer the question as to whether normotensive women with high physical activity at work have an increased risk of IHD," the authors concluded in the study, which was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Study lead author, Karen Allesoe of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, explained that increased physical activity could lead to a higher risk of heart disease because having a high heart rate for several hours per day can contribute to the formation of plaque in the arteries. When combined with hypertension, which is also tied to plaque buildup, the effects on heart health can become very detrimental.
"Someone with uncontrolled hypertension may be at higher risk for ischemic heart disease due to physical activity," Lea Ann Matura, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, commented. "We need to think about not only the work environment, but also the person's personal life. If someone has uncontrolled hypertension and they are lifting heavy loads at home then they could be at risk, similar to the study's findings."
Matura was not involved with the research.
The authors acknowledged that one big limitation to their study was that they focused on only one profession from one country. They added that if more studies confirmed their findings, physically demanding work environments might need to consider making modifications, especially for hypertensive employees.
