Opportunities to improve cardiovascular health in the new American workplace

Eamon Y. Duffy; Pranoti G. Hiremath; Pablo Martinez-Amezcua; Richard Safeer; Jennifer A. Schrack; Michael J. Blaha; Erin D. Michos; Roger S. Blumenthal; Seth S. Martin; Miguel Cainzos-Achirica

American Journal of Preventive Cardiology (Mar 2021)

Opportunities to improve cardiovascular health in the new American workplace

Eamon Y. Duffy,
Pranoti G. Hiremath,
Pablo Martinez-Amezcua,
Richard Safeer,
Jennifer A. Schrack,
Michael J. Blaha,
Erin D. Michos,
Roger S. Blumenthal,
Seth S. Martin,
Miguel Cainzos-Achirica

Affiliations

Eamon Y. Duffy: Department of Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
Pranoti G. Hiremath: Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
Pablo Martinez-Amezcua: Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Richard Safeer: Office of Employee Health and Well-being, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; General Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
Jennifer A. Schrack: Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Michael J. Blaha: Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Erin D. Michos: Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Roger S. Blumenthal: Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
Seth S. Martin: Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Miguel Cainzos-Achirica: Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Division of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness, Department of Cardiology, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston, TX, USA; Center for Outcomes Research, Houston Methodist, Houston, TX, USA; Corresponding author. Division of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness, Department of Cardiology, Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, 6565 Fannin St Brown Bldg. B5–019, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 5
p. 100136

Abstract

Read online

Adult working-class Americans spend on average 50% of their workday awake time at their jobs. The vast majority of these jobs involve mostly physically inactive tasks and frequent exposure to unhealthy food options. Traditionally, the workplace has been a challenging environment for cardiovascular prevention, where cardiovascular guidelines have had limited implementation. Despite the impact that unhealthy lifestyles at the workplace may have on the cardiovascular health of U.S. workers, there is currently no policy in place aimed at improving this. In this review, we discuss recent evidence on the prevalence of physical inactivity among Americans, with a special focus on the time spent at the workplace; and the invaluable opportunity that workplace-based lifestyle interventions may represent for improving the prevention of cardiovascular disease. We describe the current regulatory context, the key stakeholders involved, and present specific, guideline-inspired initiatives to be considered by both Congress and employers to improve the “cardiovascular safety” of US jobs. Additionally, we discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has forever altered the workplace, and what lessons can be taken from this experience and applied to cardiovascular disease prevention in the new American workplace. For many Americans, long sitting hours at their job represent a risk to their cardiovascular health. We discuss how a paradigm shift in how we approach cardiovascular health, from focusing on leisure time to also focusing on work time, may help curtail the epidemic of cardiovascular disease in this country.

Published in American Journal of Preventive Cardiology

ISSN: 2666-6677 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Specialties of internal medicine: Diseases of the circulatory (Cardiovascular) system; Medicine: Public aspects of medicine
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/american-journal-of-preventive-cardiology/

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords