Heart Attack Aftermath: Returning to Work

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

07 Feb 2008 04:56 PM

Returning to work after a major injury or health crisis can be exciting. You may be tired of resting and feeling a touch of cabin fever! Or, the prospect of going back to your regular routine may be frightening. Can you handle your old workload? Have you missed too much in your absence?

When it comes to a heart attack, there's one emotion you need to be careful of: stress. A recent study from Universite Laval in Quebec found that chronic job stress can double a person's likelihood of having a second heart attack!

There is a lot of potential stress when it comes to a heart attack. How much will insurance cover, and how much will you be responsible for? How much time off will your work allow? A person who has suffered a heart attack is also looking at a lot of lifestyle changes. They may need to make dramatic diet and exercise changes. They may need to add medications to their daily routine.

Stress at work can just increase the load. So what can you do? Here are some tips:

• Make sure your supervisors know about your heart attack, and the risk of a second attack due to stress.
• See if you can't modify your work schedule to work shorter hours or do some work from home.
• Take the transition back to work slowly. Rushing things will only make the stress worse.
• Don't be too proud to ask for help! You don't have to do it all yourself. Your coworkers can help guide you through any procedural changes you may have missed, or update you on projects in progress.
• Make sure you give yourself time to de-stress after intense meetings or projects. Take ten minutes for a mental break to keep your stress levels lower.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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