A great physical effort associated with work during night shifts can lead to negative effects on the worker's health. THE AIM of our study is to evaluate the risk of associating great physical effort with night shifts in hypertensive patients.
Material and methods: We have studied 2 groups of hypertensive patients, each group being consisted of 20 male patients, age 30 to 50, that have been diagnosed with mild hypertension during the periodical medical exam, group I being consisted of subjects that performed great physical effort, and their work program implied night shifts. Group II consisted of workers that performed work that implied mild effort during day shifts.
Results and discussions: At the end of the 2 year study period, 8 patients from group I (great physical effort associated with night shifts) developed a severe increase in blood pressure (beyond 160/100 mmHg), as well as an increase in basal cardiac frequency, whilst only one patient from group II presented such modifications.
Conclusions: Night shift work associated with great physical effort can lead to a significant rise in blood pressure and heart rate, all the more if the subject suffers from hypertension thus predisposing the patients to coronary events.