[Cardiovascular prevention in the workplace: scientific evidence for the role of health promotion]

Cardiovascular disorders represent the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the western world. A large number of working subjects is potentially involved. On this basis, the work environment may be considered an ideal place for health promotion in this field. The recently involvement of Occupational Medicine in health promotion programs represent an ideal condition for the effective implementation of these programs, Scientific literature convincingly show that well characterized interventions, acting on key factors of the cardiovascular risk, such as smoking, diet, physical activity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and work-related stress may prevent the development of overt cardiovascular diseases. A proper administration and presentation of these programs is however an essential requisite for their success. Last but not least, the participation of workers, especially of those of low socioeconomic status should be obtained. In order to reach this goal, adequate incentives need to be proposed to workers, including employer-provided paid time off during the work-day for exercise health screenings, or prevention/wellness programs. Although seemingly costly, this approach seems to be fruitful in terms of financial returns in the mid-long term perspective.