Women with high job strain are 67% more likely to experience a heart attack and 38% more likely to have a cardiovascular event than their counterparts in low strain jobs, according to a study published July 18 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.

The researchers, led by Dr. Michelle A. Albert of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, did not find any correlation between job insecurity and long-term cardiovascular disease risk.

Dr. Albert noted, "elevated job strain, a form of psychological stress, has long term cardiovascular health effects in women and could suggest the need for health care providers to incorporate assessment of and identification of useful interventions that minimize the effects of job strain."

The study monitored over 22,000 female health professionals in the US over 10 years. Based on self-reported job characteristics, the researchers found that higher job strain was correlated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.