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Study: High-Stress Jobs Could Pose Health Risk To Working Women

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A new study suggests that women in high-stress jobs might be risking their health simply by going to work.

TV 10-55's Katie McGee talked to Myra Martino, a superintendent at 2 Manhattan apartment buildings who suffered from a massive heart attack six months ago after working her demanding job for 27 years.

"I guess that puts a certain amount of stress on the body," Martino admitted.

According to research conducted by Brigham and Women's Hospital, such stress is the source of the increased health risk.

The study, which followed 22,000 women working in a diverse range of fields over 10 years, found that females in stressful professions have a 70 percent higher chance of heart attack and 40% increased occurrences of other cardiovascular traumas than women with less pressure at work.

MORE: Read The Full Study Here

Cardiologist Dr. Jacqueline Tamis-Holland, a cardiologist at St. Luke's Hospital, explained the results to The Couch.

"In this particular study they looked at the demand that your job had on you and the control you have over how demanding your job is," she said.

She says our bodies are built to deal with a certain amount of stress, but are no long able to cope with the kind of stress that affects some women day after day, year after year without long-term health consequences.

"The adrenilines that are released from the body during stress can cause an increase to developing damage in the arteries." Said Tamis-Holland.

She also said that high stress jobs often cause poor health habits.

"If you have a very stressful, demanding job you may be a little tired at the end of the day, you may not want to exercise, you may be more inclined to smoke, you may not eat a very healthy diet."

But Tamis-Holland said that with a few changes to a stressful daily routine, women can lower their risk.

"You need some "me" time. You need some time, even if it's a half hour a day, to sit down with a book, or going for a walk."

Martino said that while she still works hard, she has adopted a new perspective on life.

"When you get up and look out the window and you say 'it's really great to see today,'" she said.

Do you think job-related stress is making you sick? Post your comments below...

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