Even ice-cool Sven Goran Eriksson breaks sweat occasionally

It can happen to anyone but there is no doubt that football managers suffer their fair share of what appear to be stress-related illnesses.

Most infamously Scotland's manager Jock Stein died of a heart attack during a World Cup qualifying tie against Wales in 1985.

But the list of survivors is also a long one. In 1992 Graeme Souness needed a triple heart bypass operation and is still on strong blood pressure drugs.

Joe Kinnear resigned as Wimbledon manager after his heart attack in 1999. Barry Fry has had three heart attacks during his management career (including one he had while pushing the Barnet team bus.)

Kenny Dalgish's surprise resignation as Liverpool manager in 1992 was in part caused by a very painful attack of shingles.

It's also highly likely that Brian Clough's struggle with alcohol addiction was at least in part caused by job-related stress.

Ice cool

Stress can be a killer and one look at Arsene Wenger's face during any of Arsenal's nail-biting (and ultimately disappointing) Champions' League games this season has shown how stressful the job can be. Even ice-cool Sven Goran Eriksson breaks sweat occasionally.

But why is stress dangerous?

One side-affect of stress can be a rise in blood pressure. High blood pressure causes your arteries to harden and lose elasticity.

This in turn forces the heart to pump harder and even become enlarged.

All of this produces extra strain on the cardiovascular system leading to heart attacks, strokes and the kind of aortic aneurysm Gerard Houllier had.

After all the star players get the best medical treatment. Surely the managers are no less deserving

Stress is also known to have an affect on the blood's clotting mechanism. Adrenaline can make the blood clot more easily which can make a heart attack more likely.

So what are people in stressful jobs to do, other than quit?

Well if you are the kind of person who enjoys doing a stressful job then quitting is probably not an option. But regular check-ups are.

Most serious stress-related illnesses show themselves before disaster strikes.

Check ups

The League Managers' Association believes it is very important for managers to make sure they have their health checked regularly.

It has started encouraging members to attend a "Fit to Manage" clinic at the Adidas Wellness Centre run by heart specialist Dr Dorian Dugmore.

In the end football management is always going to be stressful.

Probably ever more so as the commercial and media pressures increase.

It is going to be up to individual managers to decide if they think the risks of the job are worth it. I have a feeling that there won't be many people leaving the profession.

That means it is up to the clubs to make sure their managers are getting the medical advice and check-ups they need.

After all the star players get the best medical treatment. Surely the managers are no less deserving.

Gerard Houllier's illness should be a wake-up call to football clubs to start taking their managers' health just as seriously as the health of their players.