In the daily hustle and bustle, stress has become a toxin that, if not controlled, can cause heart disease, how can it not be prevented in the work environment?
Heart health is essential to well-being, especially since heart disease is the cause of more than 18 million deaths around the world (1).
Prevention and timely care is the best way to maintain heart health and reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease; In that case, the company is a company.
hidden danger
In Mexico, as of June 2022, heart disease was the nation’s leading cause of death with 105,864 cases (2).
Stress, work, and lifestyle are rapidly linked factors to heart disease, because people who work long hours suffer from higher levels of stress, exercise less, have bad eating habits, or don’t get enough sleep.
A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that working long hours caused 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016 (3). Thus, people who work 55 or more hours a week have a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to those who work 35 to 40 hours a week.
Faced with this panorama, some companies are beginning to feel the importance of getting involved in the health of their employees by investing in initiatives or strategies that can promote a healthy work environment and the treatment of the human heart from now on. a healthier attitude healthy
What do companies do?
Sergio Ahumada, the medical director of Semper Salut, pointed out that there are various actions that companies could adopt to promote heart health and promote healthy behavior among employees in the working environment.
Semper Salus México, a company that provides telemedicine services and helps companies take care of the health of workers, has shared some tips that, by implementing these projects, also contribute to a sense of belonging in the companies they are considering. take care of the pulse of your work.
“This initiative must be continued to raise awareness in order to have a lasting impact on people’s health, with comprehensive actions that allow health care to be part of society’s culture. Timely information about heart disease and how to reduce it can be provided, at the same time as promoting healthy eating habits and encouraging physical activity, for example,” Ahumada said.
Chronic stress and lack of work flexibility caused by an unbalanced lifestyle can lead to poor diet or lack of time to exercise, which can lead to heart disease.
It is recommended to give greater autonomy to employees, establish flexible working hours and provide benefits to manage it, such as yoga classes or access to therapists, to name a few.
Notes:
1- World Heart Federation. What is cardiovascular disease?
2- I’m sorry. Statistics on genealogical deaths from January to June 2022 (preliminary)
3. World Health Organization. Working long hours, deaths from disease and heart attacks were increasing: QUI, ILO
