Not only can stress at work make you nervous or give you a heavy dose of “Sunday anxiety,” a new study has found that it can also affect your heart.

According to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, occupational stress is associated with a higher risk of the most common form of cardiac arrhythmia.

Mathilde Lavigne-Robichaud, a co-author of the study, tells Yahoo Life that this is yet another piece of research showing that work stress plays a significant role in overall health. “Evidence, including from this study, suggests that work-related stress is an important risk factor for heart disease, similar to how smoking would be considered in a patient’s medical history,” she says.

What does the study say?

Researchers examined the medical records of nearly 6,000 adult employees in Canada, including 18 years of follow-up data. They found that employees who reported experiencing high levels of stress at work had an 83 percent higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation (or A-fib), the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm. Employees who reported feeling an “effort-reward imbalance” — that is, feeling their job performance was not adequately rewarded by things like “salary, recognition or job security” — had a 44 percent higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation. And employees who reported experiencing both high stress and effort-reward imbalance had a 97 percent increased risk.

“The most important finding from this study is that reducing psychosocial stressors in the workplace, such as workload and effort-reward imbalance, may be a critical strategy for preventing (atrial fibrillation),” says Lavigne-Robichaud. “It is important to note that the increased risk of (atrial fibrillation) was not due to other existing cardiovascular disease, which makes this finding particularly significant.”

According to the American Heart Association, more than 12 million people in the United States are expected to have atrial fibrillation by 2030. Symptoms include dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat or palpitations. Atrial fibrillation can also increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

The study authors add that identifying and addressing workplace stressors may be an effective way to prevent atrial fibrillation. And while it’s impossible to completely avoid workplace stress, experts say there are some things you can do to reduce it:

• Focus on your own reward. If you feel like you’re not getting enough out of your job, remind yourself of what you’re working for. “You can increase the feeling of reward from your job by, for example, making sure you have photos of your family or your vacation destinations, or a picture that symbolizes being debt-free – whatever the reason you work,” says Chloe Carmichael, clinical psychologist and author of Nervous Energy: Use the Power of Your Fearsays Yahoo Life. “This way, you can feel more connected moment by moment to the bigger reward you’re working toward.”

• Take a break. “Short breaks during the workday are important, such as a brisk walk, a water break, or a few minutes of meditation and slowing down your breathing and thoughts,” John Staley, deputy director of the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Center, tells Yahoo Life. “If needed, set an alarm on your phone or computer to remind you to get up, stretch, take a short walk, or chat with coworkers.” And if you can’t physically detach yourself from your work, try mentally switching off for a few minutes. “Sometimes just closing your eyes for 30 seconds in a peaceful and quiet environment can help,” Dr. Paul Wang, director of the Stanford Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Stanford Medicine, tells Yahoo Life.

• Keep a diary. Staley also recommends keeping a journal – not only to keep track of stress triggers, but also to record small personal successes. “A compliment from a coworker, student, boss or client? Write it down. You get a promotion, award or recognition for a job well done, your child makes the school team, or your spouse (or significant other) has a happy outcome at work or at home? Write it down in your journal,” says Staley. “Sometimes looking at the positive things can reframe our thinking.”

• Reevaluate your workplace. Staley says that decluttering your desk or office can also help reduce your mental load. “Take a moment and assess your work environment to see what factors are likely to affect your work-related stress,” he says. “Do you have a comfortable workspace free of clutter and distractions?”

• Think about looking for a job. And if stress and anxiety at work are really getting to you, Carmichael says, that might mean it’s time to revamp your resume and look for something new. “The healthy function of anxiety is to encourage preparation behavior. So if you’re stressed about your job, that can also encourage you to ask yourself, ‘Is this stress, this challenge, worth the reward?'”

What employers and managers can do:

• Give employees options. Carmichael suggests talking to employees about their work preferences. Some people may prefer to work at their desk during their lunch break to finish the day earlier, while others may stay longer if they have a full hour off lunch. “Being able to give your employees choices not only means they get a work style that suits them – you also increase their sense of control, which helps reduce stress,” she says.

• Help them set priorities. Carmichael also recommends helping employees assess their workload so they can figure out what they can do later. “Sometimes it can be surprising for managers to discover all the things an employee has piled up,” she says. “And that has the double benefit of not only spreading the employee’s workload out in a practical way, but also making the employee feel seen and heard and having a good relationship with management.”