If you are experiencing professional and personal burnout, new research suggests you could be at a higher risk for a potentially fatal heart flutter. Atrial fibrillation, also called AFib or AF, is the most common heart rhythm disorder that affects more than 33 million people worldwide (including at least 2.7 million Americans).
The American Institute of Stress said that 80% of American workers say they feel stress on the job. More than work, burnout is caused by the 24-hour news cycle; the constant connection to social media and a race to be the best at what you do both at home and work.
A study on burnout published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology by the University of Southern California used data from 11,445 people who were participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study that were examined between 1990 and 1992.
Burnout is caused by prolonged and profound stress at work or home, said study author Parveen Garg, M.D.
Garg added that burnout differs from depression, which is characterized by low mood, guilt, and poor self-esteem.
According to Garg, "The results of our study further established the harm that can be caused in people who suffer from exhaustion that goes unchecked."
Researchers categorized the exhaustion of participants into one of three categories: experiencing "vegetative" depressive symptoms like fatigue, "non-vegetative" symptoms like crying, and functional depressive symptoms like coping and being productive.
Twenty-three years later, they found that 2,200 people, or 19.4% of their participants, had developed heart irregularities.
Thus, burnout may cause damage to the heart that can lead to a potentially deadly irregular heart rhythm.
They found that participants with the highest levels of vital exhaustion were at a 20% greater risk of developing atrial fibrillation, compared to those with little to no evidence of vital exhaustion.
The study noted that further research is needed to better understand the findings and to identify how patients can be helped.
Burnout or vital exhaustion leaves sufferers feeling excessively tired, devoid of energy, demoralized, and irritable.
According to the Mayo Clinic, AFib can increase your risk of strokes, heart failure, and other heart-related complications.
It is surmised that 10 million people in the US will have atrial fibrillation by next year, increasing their risk for heart attack, stroke, and death.
Those with AFib suffer chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath and fatigue but for others, AFib is symptomless, a potentially silent killer.
Findings have been mixed because some studies have shown a link between atrial fibrillation and anger or post-traumatic stress syndrome. Other studies suggest depression and other psychosocial impacts are a result of having the condition, rather than a cause of AFib.
Aside from an irregular heartbeat, AFib can cause symptoms such as chest pain, heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
What causes atrial fibrillation is not yet fully understood. Thus, the specific association between vital exhaustion and atrial fibrillation had not been evaluated.
Burnout has been duly recognized as a legit medical condition by the World Health Organization.
RELATED ARTICLE: Survey Finds That Over Half Of Physicians Are Burned Out, Which Could Lead To Medical Errors
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