Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) has been often regarded as a psychosomatic illness; one of the psychosocial variables influencing the onset or course of disease is stress. Work stress in particular may therefore be a significant factor influencing CHD.
Method: This descriptive review derives from those predictive studies of work stress and CHD published from 1990-2000 based on structured literature searches.
Results: There is reasonably robust and consistent empirical evidence indicating some causal relationship between work stress and CHD risk.
Conclusions: Work stress has clear implications for the health and welfare of employees and medico legal implications for employers.