Job stress causes stroke, right? & bull; hello healthy

The causes of stress vary, and one of the most common is work. Having a job, especially one that is demanding but offers little personal control, can be stressful. In fact, according to a study in China, job stress can cause strokes.

The relationship between job stress and stroke risk

What is the relationship between stress and stroke risk? According to the American Medical Association , About 80% or doctor visits are stress related.

Many agree that job stress can cause stroke. Several medical studies have found some connection between the two but have had difficulty proving that job stress can indeed increase the risk of stroke.

Even so, over time, more and more research seems to be showing a link.

Research on job stress increases the risk of stroke

A study from the University of Michigan found that men who were psychologically reactive to stress (measured by high blood pressure) were 72 percent more likely to suffer a stroke. In other words, job stress increases the risk of stroke.

In addition, another study looked at the stress levels of 6,553 working men and women in Japan. The result, men with demanding jobs and low personal control have a greater risk of stroke.

In fact, despite controlling for several variables that also raise the risk of stroke, such as age, education level, occupation, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity and the study area, work stress still increases their risk of stroke.

Not only stress levels, other studies have also attempted to measure how well respondents manage stress and its associated risks.

They found that participants who had difficulty managing stress had an increased risk of having a stroke.

The researchers said, "One understanding suggests that men with hypertension who find it difficult to control stressful situations are more susceptible to the negative effects of stress. That means they are more prone to stroke later in life."

Research conducted by researchers from The Copenhagen City Heart Study also showed that high self-reported stress intensity and weekly stress were associated with a higher risk of fatal stroke compared with those who didn't.

Even so, there are no significant trends and strong evidence from current data to actually suggest that self-reported stress is an independent risk factor for stroke.

Job stress may cause a stroke. Even so, this is not the only factor that causes a person to have a stroke.

It is important to note, stress is associated with several other stroke risk factors that have been previously established, such as high blood pressure, smoking, and obesity.

Controlling stress means controlling the risk of stroke

A neurologist from Premier Health's Clinical Neuroscience Institute , Esteban Cheng-Ching, MD, says, "Get help from a professional when stress gets to a point where you have a hard time dealing with it."

Cheng-Ching also adds, “A common sign of stress is that you feel you have no control over work and family situations. It could also be the opposite, you control the situation too much, it all comes down to you."

The belief that work stress causes stroke may be mutually exclusive. For that, make sure you get professional help or other medical personnel if the stress you feel can no longer be tolerated.

Even though it's not the main risk factor for stress, managing stress can make your quality of life better.