Boredom and lack of career mobility causing heart problems for women
ABU DHABI – The image of the high-flying career woman suffering work-related stress may be a myth.
In fact, women in boring jobs with no prospect of promotion are more likely to suffer from stress that can lead to cardiovascular disease.
“If you are doing a mundane job day and night you will be likely to get into more complications with your stress,” said Dr Georgie Thomas, a specialist in cardiology at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
Stress and other factors such as smoking, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle have led to a rise in the number of women under 50 suffering heart attacks, said Dr Thomas. The figure has almost doubled from 15 years ago, when about 2 to 3 per cent of that age group were at risk. Now the rate is about 7 per cent, in line with global trends.
“In the past 15 to 20 years we are seeing younger women, 25-year-old ladies coming in with heart attacks, 28-year-olds coming in with heart attacks,” Dr Thomas said.
“A women who is in a commanding position – she will be less susceptible to the effects of stress than those who are doing the same thing every day. If you don’t have any chance to expand, to take a new position, take a change in the institution, that will result in increased levels of stress.”
Women and men also tend to react differently under stress, especially in the workplace. Women tend to bottle up stress more than men, he said, which can have a negative impact in the long term.
Worldwide, cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer among women, as it is in the UAE.
Dr Ahmed Gapr, an Egyptian cardiologist at Al Noor Hospital’s Airport Road branch, has noticed a rise in women complaining of stress-related heart problems.
“The number of female patients who are coming in with heart attacks and chest pains and cardiovascular disease has increased,” he said.
“Maybe 60 to 70 per cent of the people who are coming to my clinic complaining of heart palpitations are women, and for most of them it is stress related.”
Working women are more at risk because they face stress inside and outside the workplace, he said.
This includes taking care of children, a husband and household duties – as well as the demands of a job.
Dr Gapr said there was a difference between pressure and stress.
While a little pressure can be good, stress overload causes anxiety, agitation, depression and isolation. It can lead to the physical symptoms of chest pain and a rapid heartbeat.
Stress can also manifest itself as a trigger for increased smoking or drinking, which will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, he said.
“Of course, if they are in stress they might go the way of smoking and drinking. This is a risk factor for the heart.
“It is like a cycle. She goes to work, she gets under stress, she starts to have heart problems so she starts to smoke, she starts to drink. Then she gets more heart problems.”
Dr Thomas said more education would encourage women to be proactive about their heart health.
“Women, they have to be aware of the problems they may be facing,” he said “You need to find a pathway after your job to de-stress.”
Cardiovascular diseases accounted for more than a quarter of all deaths in Abu Dhabi in 2012.
Source: The National
Published: 03 Aug 2014
Category: Features, Health alert
