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A simple workplace intervention can reduce the impact of stress on the heart, said researchers of a study published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

According to the study, office workers who faced layoffs, a major stress-inducer, were able to achieve small, but significant changes in heart rate variability and a small decrease in arterial blood pressure byparticipating in a stress management program at work.

Dr. Massimo Pagani, senior author of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Milan in Italy, said that job-related stress is one of several factors that may increase the risk of heart attack. By addressing stress "at work, where stress occurs, rather than in a clinic, we may be able to prevent these workers from becoming patients."

After evaluating 91 office workers at a company which was downsizing its workforce by 10 percent compared to 79 healthy volunteers, who worked outside of the company and reported no work-related stress, the workers at the former company had significantly higher stress and tiredness scores than controls. Workers also reported more stress-related symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, pounding of the heart or gastrointestinal problems.

After a baseline assessment, the workers were offered the opportunity to participate in weekly, one-hour stress management sessions during lunch breaks or in a passive program that offered articles and monthly e-mails on stress reduction techniques.

Participants in the passive program also had access to services offered by the company’s medical department. The weekly stress management sessions focused on mental relaxation techniques, as well as cognitive restructuring exercises and coping skills to face life stressors — including work-related stress.

Twenty-six of the 91 stressed employees signed up for the stress management sessions and 25 signed up for the passive stress management program.

After a year the stress management program induced a significant, small reduction in arterial pressure, Pagani said. "And we were able to achieve these results in a working environment, without impinging on productivity, and with zero cost to the company.

"Our study provides a potential model for the assessment of work-related stress at an individual level and suggests that stress management programs can be implemented at the worksite. These programs can reduce stress symptom levels, revert stress-related autonomic nervous system dysregulation, and lower resting arterial pressure. The practical long-term impact of this approach on symptoms, well-being and health of interested workers requires further specific longitudinal studies on large populations."

Address: The American Heart Association National Center, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231; (800) 242-8721, www.americanheart.org.