The greatest risk factor for heart disease

Posted by Karen Degen on 24th March 2014

Tags: Heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, job strain, job stress, smoking, stress

One of the best books I’ve ever read is When The Body Says No by Dr Gabor Mate. I think everyone in the world should read this book.  Here’s a quote from it in relation to the main cause of heart disease.

‘Although the media and the medical profession – inspired by pharmaceutical research – tirelessly promote the idea that next to hypertension and smoking, high cholesterol poses the greatest risk for heart disease, the evidence is that job strain is more important than all the other risk factors combined.  Further, stress in general and job strain in particular are significant contributors both to high blood pressure and to elevated cholesterol levels.’

If you have job stress its probably affecting your health.  Remember that stress isn’t about what is or isn’t happening in your life, its about how you think and feel about it.  We can’t always change your circumstances but we can change how you think and feel about it.