Poor physical fitness, long work hours spell danger for heart

The study, published in the current issue of the journal 'Heart,' has found strong ties between poor physical fitness and unusually long working hours.

Details of the study
The study, conducted by researchers from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Denmark, examined data for nearly 5,000 Danish men working for 14 different companies.

Aged between 40 and 59 at baseline, the health and fitness levels of the participants were tracked for over 30 years.

Participants were required to undergo cycling tests to indicate their fitness levels. They also provided details about their weekly working hours.

70 percent of men worked for 41 to 45 hours a week. However, around 20 percent clocked up more than 45 hours a week, researchers found.

Men who were both unfit and worked over 45 hours a week ran a 59 percent higher risk of death due to heart troubles than those working for less than 40 hours per week, researchers found.

Physically fit men better off
Researchers found that physically fit men who worked for longer hours were better off than their physically unfit counterparts.

Men who clocked over 45 hours of work a week were 45 percent less likely to die of heart troubles and 38 percent less likely to die of other causes if they physically fit, as against those who were unfit.

Middle-aged men, who manage to remain physically fit, are at a significantly lesser risk. Taking part in regular physical exercise and eating right is the key, researchers emphasized.

"Men in this age group don't need to be doing extreme sports but they do need to be keeping physically fit by, for example, walking or cycling or even doing gardening or DIY, which all contribute to a good level of fitness," Dr. Jane Landon, deputy director of the National Heart Forum, suggested.

Reasons for link-up
Middle-aged men who aren’t physically fit are believed to go through bouts of heart rate and blood pressure hikes, known to damage cardiovascular health, when their working hours are unusually long.

With time, the episodes of heart rate and blood pressure rising become frequent and long, and occur even if the work itself is not physically demanding, researchers say.

"We already know that working long hours can increase blood pressure, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Being physically active helps to control your blood pressure and previous studies have shown that being physically fit can help you cope with the demands of long hours, physically demanding jobs and shift work," Cathy Ross, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said.

Physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day five times a week is what men should try to achieve, Ross advised.