Shocking surge in bankers in their TWENTIES suffering heart attacks as gruelling work conditions and drug use take their toll, doctors warn
- Cardiologists across London have seen a considerable rise in finance patients
- They claim many are being worked into a state of ill health at London’s big banks
- Warning comes five years after the death of an intern at Bank of America in 2013
Banking is universally known for being a gruelling profession.
But doctors warn that increasing numbers of young financiers are being worked into a state of potentially-fatal ill heath.
Medics across London have reported a shock surge in bankers under forty being admitted to hospital with heart complaints since 2008.
And, worryingly, many are using illegal drugs to succeed in stressful environments, where long working hours and stress are commonplace.
Working themselves into an early grave? Medics in central London have reported a rise in bankers being admitted to hospital with heart complaints over the past decade
A number of cardiologists told Business Insider, this week, that there’s been a ten per cent increase in patients from the sector over the past ten years.
‘It’s so common now — young people getting a heart attack. This is common enough not to be shocking… It’s not “Oh my god, they’re only 25!”,’ Dr. Ahmed Elghamaz, a consultant cardiologist at London North West University Hospital said.
‘We are not shocked anymore.’
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The unlikely patients, who are believed to consume cocaine and other perfromance-enhancing stimulants, regularly present themselves with two types of heart conditions: cardiac arrhythmia and myocarditis.
The former is commonly referred to as an irregular heartbeat, while the latter is inflammation of the myocardium – the heart muscle.
Both can develop into a fatal heart attack and are exacerbated by stress.
Professional risk: The unlikely patients regularly present themselves with two types of heart conditions: cardiac arrhythmia and myocarditis
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF MYOCARDITIS?
– A stabbing pain and/or tightness in the chest which may spread across the body
– Shortness of breath when lightly exercising or walking
– Difficulty breathing when resting
– Flu-like symptoms such as a high temperature, tiredness and fatigue
– Palpitations
SOURCE: British Heart Foundation
Dr. Syed Ahsan, a cardiologist with a clinic in Canary Wharf, recently treated a banker with heart problems in his late-20s.
‘He was using increasing amounts of cocaine working 12 to 14 hour a day, barely sleeping and he came in with episodes of blacking out and palpitations,’ he said.
Together, the doctors called for more research to be done and action to be taken.
Their comments come just five years after the death of Bank of America intern, Moritz Erhardt, in 2013.
Friends of the 21-year-old claimed he had been forced to work through the night eight times in a two week period in an effort to secure long term work with the firm.
Many banks are known to encourage their young students to work late into the night and, previously, there have been claims those keen to impress have put in long hours with very little sleep.
Meanwhile, in other research, it was recently claimed that women are more likely to die from heart failure.
Their chances of dying from the condition, which affects one million Britons, within a year of being diagnosed are 14 per cent higher than men.
The Canadian study also found that women were more likely than men to be admitted to hospital with the condition.
And while hospital admissions had fallen for men due to better care, they were continuing to rise in women. The researchers could not say why the death rates and hospital admissions for heart failure are so much higher for women.
But previous studies have shown women are much more likely to die from heart attacks than men as they do not receive as good care.
Gendered issue? Recent research found that women are more likely to die from heart failure
Experts say there is a perception among doctors and even among women themselves that heart conditions are a man’s disease, which leads to them being missed.
Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle is too weak to pump blood round the body and it gradually worsens. Patients commonly develop the condition after a heart attack or due to another problem such as an irregular heart rhythm or high blood pressure.
Researchers from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute looked at 90,707 patients who had been diagnosed with heart failure between 2009 and 2014.
But previous studies have shown women are much more likely to die from heart attacks than men as they do not receive as good care.
Experts say there is a perception among doctors and even among women themselves that heart conditions are a man’s disease, which leads to them being missed.
Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle is too weak to pump blood round the body and it gradually worsens. Patients commonly develop the condition after a heart attack or due to another problem such as an irregular heart rhythm or high blood pressure.
Researchers from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute looked at 90,707 patients who had been diagnosed with heart failure between 2009 and 2014.
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