High-flying career women at greater risk of heart disease

A new study has found that women with stressful jobs face a significantly higher risk of heart disease.

Feeling burnt out by endless deadlines and 12 hour work days? Here's a good reason why you should re-think your work-life balance.

While our male counterparts are traditionally more prone to heart problems caused by stressful Mad Men-esque careers, a new study has found that young women are just as likely to be at risk.

Researchers warn that women under intense pressure at work are 50 percent more likely to suffer from heart disease than those with jobs that are "manageable", reported the UK's Daily Mail. The figure remains high at 35 per cent, after taking lifestyle factors such as smoking into account.

Those who say their work pressures were "a little too high" were 25 percent more likely to develop heart disease.

These findings were published in the journal Occupational And Environmental Medicine, and examined the impact of work pressure on heart disease risk among 12,116 nurses aged between 45 and 64 over 15 years.

Work pressure and age were identified as the strongest risk factors of cardiovascular problems.

"Feeling under pressure at work means stressed employees may pick up some unhealthy bad habits and add to their risk of developing heart problems,"said June Davison, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation.