Employees in the HCI show that their CR is mainly determined by the known cardiovascular indicators and less by shift work. This effect needs to be discussed in relation to the job requirements and the cardiovascular health of the employees.

Blood pressure is the most important, modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle factors and also workload are the main, potential risk factors for the development of hypertension. This study focused on the early detection of unknown hypertension by screening employees in the hotel and restaurant industry (HRI). 148 HRI employees without hypertension (mean age: 34 years, men: 45%) self-measured their blood pressure during rest and for 24 hours of a normal workday. Individuals with a resting blood pressure ≥ 135/85 mmHg were classified as hypertensive. A further analysis investigated whether the currently applicable thresholds for hypertension during work, leisure, and sleep were exceeded on a working day. At rest, 36% of the study participants suffered from hypertension, which increased to 70% under workload and 46% during leisure time and dropped to 8% during sleep. Normal nocturnal dipping (10–20%) occurred only in 18% of cases; 78% were extreme dippers (>20%). Occupational hypertension screening is a suitable component of preventive healthcare. Resting blood pressure measurement alone is insufficient for the early detection of risk individuals and should be supplemented by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring under working conditions. The impact of workload on blood pressure needs to be given more attention in the guidelines.

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Background Shift work is often associated with adverse effects on cardiovascular health of employees. Only a few studies address the strain of shift and day workers on non-working days compared to working days. Aims This study aims to determine how the cardiovascular strain of hotel and catering industry (HCI) employees who work alternating shifts differs from those working normal day shifts—on both a working day (WD) and a non-working day (ND). Methods The sample consisted of 60 alternating shift (morning and afternoon, mean age: 31.5 ± 8.5 years) and 88 day workers (mean age: 35.3 ± 9.4 years). A 24-h ambulatory measurement of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) on WD and ND with the time phases DAY, SLEEP, and 24-h TOTAL was used to analyse cardiovascular strain. BP status was assessed by self-measurement (36% hypertensives). Results The total strain over 24 h was slightly higher on WD than ND (mean BP: 134/79 versus 127/75 mmHg, P = 0.002–0.020; mean HR: 78 versus 75 bpm, P = 0.055). In trend, shift workers had higher systolic BP than day workers during the individual time phases of DAY, SLEEP, and 24-h TOTAL on WD. Known cardiovascular risk factors emerged as critical determinants of cardiovascular strain: older age, male gender, and hypertensive blood pressure status. Conclusions The results revealed no clear association between the alternating shift system in HCI and increased cardiovascular strain. The 24-h ambulatory measurement is considered ideal for determining cardiovascular strain in everyday life and under working conditions.