Take this health message to heart
As we focus on the cost and impact of chronic disease in the workplace, it is not long before we arrive at one of Australia’s leading chronic diseases - cardiovascular disease.
Healthy workers make for healthy business. Fostering health of employees can have direct impact on their well being, as well as a positive impact on the well being of the employee-employer.
Heart, stroke and vascular (blood vessel) disease top the Australian Government’s list of five national health priorities, with coronary heart disease and stroke our nation’s singlehanded first and second biggest killers.
Cardiovascular disease affects 3.7 million people and causes 36 per cent of all deaths in Australia. It is Australia’s most expensive health condition.
Combine these figures with the fact that the average age of our working population is increasing and we see that cardiovascular disease will affect many of our workers.
Cardiovascular disease: snapshot
This umbrella term covers various diseases of the heart and the circulatory/vascular system. It has recently been discovered that cardiovascular disease can begin developing as early as childhood, decades before any symptoms occur.
Many Cardiovascular diseases are due to Atherosclerosis, which is a build-up of fat and cholesterol on the inner linings of the arteries. This can lead to reduced blood flow to the heart, brain or limbs, causing any one of a number of disorders, such as:
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Coronary artery disease. This heart condition can lead to:
- Angina - intense chest pain;
- Heart Attack – an interruption of blood supply to an area of the heart, causing muscle tissue to die and function to become impaired; or
- Congestive heart failure – an inability for the heart to pump sufficient blood to the body.
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Cerebrovascular disease. A condition of the blood vessels in the brain, this can cause:
- Stroke – a blockage in blood supply to certain areas of the brain causing change to the body function control;
- TIA (transient ischaemic attack, or “mini stroke”) – symptoms persisting for less than 24 hours.
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Peripheral artery disease. Affects blood flow to the arms and legs, which can result in:
- Aneurysm – bulging of the aorta or other blood vessels which poses the risk of rupture and haemorrhaging;
- Claudication – partially obstructed arteries causing limited blood flow and pain when exercising.
- Gangrene – insufficient blood flow resulting in death of tissue and amputation;
The cost of cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease accounts for 18 per cent of Australia’s total burden of disease and causes disability to a further 1.4 million people.
Estimations of the total economic costs of heart attack and chest pain in Australia at $17.9 billion. Direct healthcare costs are estimated to be around $5.9 billion. The remainder is attributed to indirect costs, which translates to costs shouldered by the employer. Some of these include:
- Increased absenteeism: chronically ill workers average twice as many days off work as healthy workers;
- Decreased productivity: workers with a chronic health condition have a far lesser work output; and
- Increased staffing costs: rehiring and training costs due to chronically ill workers exiting the workforce because of disability or death.
Decreasing workers’ cardiovascular disease risk factors will not only result in a better quality of life for them, but if employers can limit the impact of cardiovascular disease in their workforce their business stands to avoid significant financial loss.
What are the risk factors?
Improving most of the risk factors for heart disease involves simple lifestyle habits such as exercise and nutrition. Risk factors include:
- Smoking;
- High blood pressure;
- High cholesterol;
- Diabetes;
- Physical inactivity;
- Poor nutrition;
- Being overweight; and
- Stress response behaviours such as depression, anxiety and social isolation.
90 per cent of Australians have at least one of these risk factors, while 44 per cent have three or more. These risk factors are modifiable. People will reduce their chance of developing cardiovascular diseases simply by minimising their number of risk factors and practically everybody can reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.
There are some risk factors for cardiovascular disease which cannot be altered. These are:
- Sex. Being male carries twice as much risk of heart attack;
- Heredity. Family history of heart disease increases an individual’s likelihood; and
- Age. Over 65s have a greater chance of heart disease.
What should employers do?
The key elements here are:
- Education of workers on the risks of cardiovascular disease; and
- Management of risk factors.
Top tips for risk factor reduction in the workplace
Encourage lifestyle changes by making them appealing and accessible to workers. Try to implement policy that discourages risk factor behaviour. These initiatives could include:
- Free employee health risk-assessment screening programs;
- Low-cost heart-healthy eating options at the workplace cafeteria;
- Treatment programs including medical or fitness guidance and health counselling;
- A smoke-free workplace policy;
- A “lunch club” program for workers that involves workers collectively buying bulk fresh ingredients to make their own low cost healthy lunches with at work;
- Promote physical activity by allowing employees to use company time and/or facilities for exercise, or partner with local health facilities and subsidise/ incentivise employee membership;
- Hold walking-meetings;
- Promote intra-office walking and stair use by centralising office equipment and encouraging in-person communication;
- Provide staff pedometers;
- Encourage teams events, such as http://www.gettheworldmoving.com/
- Stress management programmes. Target the stress risk factor by making counselling and physical therapy sessions regularly available to employees;
- Accessible blood pressure monitors and defibrillators at work.
Programs that start with employee involvement, have senior management commitment and are respectful of the individual are more likely to succeed.
Workplaces make or break positive health habits
The national chronic disease strategy insists that health messages must be reinforced through peoples’ workplaces as much as anywhere else.
If you want to limit the human and financial impact of cardiovascular disease on your business, take this simple message to heart.
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