Mental stress and the cardiovascular system part V. Chrome mental stress and cardiovascular disease: Job stress

Abstract

Parameters of job stress include degree of job control and magnitude of psychological stress. These occupational characteristics may be multiplicative when low job control coexists with high psychological stress. Cardiovascular entities adversely affected by these two occupational characteristics (either alone or in combination) include hypertension, diastolic blood pressure, and coronary artery disease. Some studies challenge these hypotheses. Organism behavior may depend on both stimulus and individual capacity. Individual differences in emotional reactivity and defensiveness may relate to tension arousal and cardiovascular response to work. Enhanced tension arousal and adverse cardiovascular response may contribute to the origin and/or course of coronary artery disease. Definitive description of the relationship between job stress and cardiovascular disease awaits further large-scale studies. The influence of socioeconomic status may need to be considered to reach final resolution of this controversy. Clinicians need not wait until investigators have resolved all the controversies surrounding the relationship between job control and coronary heart disease before intervening. Behavioral strategies offer more long-term promise than simple pharmacotherapy.