Working hard? Get 7 hrs sleep

“If you work for 14 to 16 hours a day without adequate sleep, you are bound to suffer a cardiac arrest early in your life,” warns Dr B.K. Goyal, a senior cardiologist at Bombay Hospital, Churchgate, reports Naziya Alvi.

“If you work for 14 to 16 hours a day without adequate sleep, you are bound to suffer a cardiac arrest early in your life,” warns Dr B.K. Goyal, a senior cardiologist at Bombay Hospital, Churchgate.

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Dr Goyal’s warning comes in the wake of yet another sudden death of a 52-year-old high achiever, R Ravimohan.

The Reliance Industries' executive director and former Crisil chairman died on Monday following a cardiac arrest at 9 pm while taking a walk near his Maker Chambers office at Nariman Point. He collapsed near Marine Drive and was rushed him to Saifee Hospital, where he was declared dead.

Two months ago, Ranjan Das, 42, a chief executive officer of SAP (India) died of a cardiac arrest after he returned to his Bandra flat after a workout.

While details regarding Ravimohan’s medical and family history are not known, Das reportedly was a fitness freak with no family history of cardiac problems. According to his family, Das was particular about eating his meals on time, was a regular at the gym and enjoyed watching films to beat stress. But in his hectic daily schedule, he had very little time catch up on adequate sleep.

“A minimum of seven hours of sleep is important for our heart,” said Dr Brian Pinto, consultant cardiologist at Breach Candy Hospital.

City cardiologists claim that their patients are getting younger by the day. Pinto sees at least 15 to 20 heart patients everyday of which 30 per cent are in the age group of 35 to 45 years.

Dr Shahid Merchant, a cardiologist at Lilavati Hospital, Bandra, also sees around 12 to 15 patients everyday of which 30 per cent are in the same age group.

Cardiologists recommend a compulsory health check up every year, once you cross the age of 35. Those who have a family history of heart disease or in high-stress jobs should go for a check up every six months.

“Stress caused due to life style changes like poor dietary habits, long working hours and inadequate sleep are a few prominent reasons leading to cardiac arrests,” said Pinto.

At Bombay Hospital, Goyal recently performed an angioplasty on a 28-year-old Thane resident who fell unconscious at his Nariman Point office.

“There was no history of heart disease in his family. It was only stress that led to a heart attack at that young age,” said Goyal adding that in such cases long travelling hours added to the stress.