Unknowingly Exposing Yourself to High Blood Pressure at Work?

While some may believe that some simple stress can raise your blood pressure, Dr. Samuel J. Mann, a professor at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, conducted 48 relevant studies and discovered that only a minority found any association between job stress and high blood pressure. But what about the physical exposures at work and not just the stress?

A group of 7, 127 Latino workers were chosen to be in a study linking high blood pressure to the exposure of organic solvents conducted by the University of Chicago. They were chosen due to the fact that they are the fastest growing minority group that work closely with pesticides, hazardous chemicals and other organic solvents.

They found that 27% of workers showed 3 of 5 symptoms of developing cardiovascular disease such as abdominal obesity. And 32% of workers had high blood pressure.

This study still needs more backup but it is a start to determining which exposures can be causing high blood pressure. Please protect yourself and your employees when working with organic solvents!