It has been less than a month since the last incident of the sudden death of a byte employee. Recently, another company was exposed. The employee proposed to resign after working overtime for three consecutive months. In the case that the approval form has been passed , the employee said that he was not feeling well and was afraid of sudden death, but was arrogantly responded by HR: “Let’s talk about sudden death.”
(Picture source network, invasion and deletion)
In recent years, news about the sudden death of employees from overwork has been reported frequently. On December 29, 2020, Zhang Moufei, an employee of Pinduoduo, died suddenly in the early morning at the age of 23; on November 5, 2021 On February 5, 2022, the head of the Wuhan audit team at Station B died suddenly during the Spring Festival; on February 14, 2022, the 26-year-old designer of You An Design died suddenly due to excessive overtime…
In the season of vitality, at a positive age, these migrant workers who are trapped in front of the computer and work overtime have no time to take into account the warmer weather, beautiful spring, and the passage of time. It is mediation in the shadow of survival and sudden death.
Why does overtime cause sudden death?
Spontaneous, unexpected death known as sudden death. It often occurs in patients who appear to be healthy or whose condition has stabilized or improved after treatment and is characterized by a sudden death. , Unpredictable, and even some people think that sudden death is the most serious disease of human beings.
(Photo source: Figure Worm Creative)
Depending on the cause, sudden death can be divided into sudden cardiac death and non-cardiac sudden death. Non-cardiac sudden death includes cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, epilepsy, asthma, etc. For example, the sudden death of employees at station B before is the sudden death of cerebral hemorrhage.
About 80% of sudden deaths are sudden cardiac deaths. According to the “China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2020” released by the National Cardiovascular Center, cardiac disease occurs every year in our country. There were 544,000 sudden deaths.
Sudden cardiac death is closely related to cardiovascular disease. The age of onset is mostly 45 to 60 years old. However, in recent years, the sudden death rate of young people has shown a significant upward trend. The pressure of life, staying up late and working overtime , irregular diet, smoking and drinking are all causes of sudden death.
In 2021, a study published in The Lancet Regional Health showed that migrant workers who worked more than 55 hours per week died of cardiovascular disease before the age of 65. increased risk by 52%.
(Image credit: The Lancet Regional Health – Europe)
On the one hand, long-term overtime and staying up late will cause the body to be in a state of excessive fatigue, the immune system of the body will be imbalanced, and the inflammatory response level of the blood vessel wall will be increased, thereby promoting the occurrence of atherosclerosis, thereby increasing the Risk of myocardial infarction.
On the other hand, staying up too late will disturb the body’s biological clock, overexcite the sympathetic nerves, and cause sinus tachycardia, which in turn can lead to ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Some studies have pointed out that myocardial infarction is accompanied by ventricular fibrillation. Arrhythmias greatly increase sudden death rates.
In addition, frequent overtime, lack of sleep, and high mental stress can also lead to increased blood pressure, promote the development of hypertension, diabetes and obesity, and increase the risk of cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction and other diseases .
A study published in “China Emergency Medicine” showed that emotional agitation and fatigue were the main causes of sudden death, accounting for 25.66% and 24.53% of all causes.
(Causes of sudden death/source: Reference [4])
In addition, irregular diets and nutritional imbalances caused by fast-paced life and high work pressure will also lead to high blood lipids, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, etc. risk; sedentary, lack of physical exercise There is also a strong association with cardiovascular disease risk, which increases the risk of myocardial infarction.
However, it should be noted here that exercise does bring many benefits to the body, but it should be done when the body is in good shape. After working overtime and staying up late, the body is already in a very tired state. At this time, fitness exercise will increase the burden on the heart and even lead to sudden death from sports (such as the sudden death of actor Gao Yixiang in 2019).
What are the signs of sudden death?
Sudden, rapid, unpredictable and high mortality are the main characteristics of sudden death. Patients may have cardiac disease before sudden death, but the occurrence of sudden death is often unpredictable.
Myocardial infarction is a common cause of sudden cardiac death, and chest pain is the most common and earliest manifestation of most acute myocardial infarctions. This type of chest pain is severe, widespread, and lasts for a long time (up to hours or even days), and cannot be relieved by rest or nitroglycerin. Patients often feel restless, sweating, and fearful. .
(Photo source: Figure Worm Creative)
In addition, about 20% to 33% of patients with acute myocardial infarction have atypical aura symptoms, which are easily overlooked. These symptoms include epigastric pain, toothache, jaw pain, left shoulder or armpit pain, back pain, sore throat, neck pain, headache, etc. At the same time, some patients with myocardial infarction may also have no obvious pain, which is more common in the elderly and Diabetic patients.
These symptoms can appear as early as one month before the onset of a myocardial infarction, and most reappear 24 hours before the onset, so when the above symptoms appear unexplained, and are accompanied by chest discomfort, breathing Difficulty or tightness in the chest, which can be exacerbated by activity, should be paid attention to and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible.
Although sudden death is unpredictable, most risk factors for coronary heart disease are also risk factors for sudden cardiac death, such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, smoking, insufficient exercise, obesity , diabetes, etc. Therefore, paying more attention to the following points in daily life may help us reduce the risk of sudden death:
Have a reasonable diet, quit smoking and limit alcohol, and limit the intake of high oil, high salt and high sugar;
Control blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids;
Keep exercising, but stretch before and after exercise, conduct a health assessment before strenuous exercise, and stop and rest immediately if you experience discomfort (dizziness, nausea, sweating, chest pain, etc.) during exercise , if not relieved, it is recommended to seek medical attention;
Sleep regularly;
Emotionally stable, try to stay happy;
Regular physical examination. It is recommended to perform 1-2 physical examinations per year. If you have recently experienced symptoms such as chest pain, dyspnea, palpitations, and fatigue, it is recommended to go to a professional medical institution for examination in time.
How to rescue patients with myocardial infarction?
When a myocardial infarction occurs, the patient will experience severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, profuse sweating, and even a sense of impending death. At this time, the emergency number 120 should be called immediately.
When myocardial infarction occurs, patients should reduce their activities as much as possible, avoid walking, coughing, etc. It is best to lie down quietly, and family members should not move the patient frequently.
Because most NSAIDs are harmful for acute myocardial infarction, do not take pain relievers.
Severe myocardial infarction can lead to cardiac arrest, in which case CPR should be initiated immediately, and if it is in a public place, others should immediately look for an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and conduct rescue.
#CPR methods
1) Do not move or shake the patient, and let the patient lie on their back.
2) Take a few seconds to determine whether the patient has breathing and heartbeat, and if not, do CPR immediately.
3) Compress the chest. Immediately after cardiac arrest, people around you should apply firm compressions on the patient’s lower sternum. When pressing, the base of both palms is attached to the lower part of the patient’s sternum, the other hand is stacked on the back of this hand, the elbow joints of both arms are straight, and the weight of the upper body is used for rapid pressing, the pressing depth is at least 5 cm, and the pressing frequency is 100-120 times/min. The rescuer should maintain physical strength and keep pressing.
(Source: 123RF)
4) Open the airway. Loosen the patient’s collar, belt, and remove foreign objects from the mouth and nose to ensure a clear airway.
5) Do artificial respiration. During the operation, you need to pinch the patient’s nose, raise the chin, wrap the patient’s mouth, and blow until the chest bulges. When chest compressions and artificial respiration are performed at the same time, the ratio is 30:2, that is, 30 cardiac compressions, 2 air blows, alternately, repeat the above steps until the ambulance arrives, and the interruption time of compression cannot exceed 10 seconds.
#Automated External Defibrillator
1) Press the power button to start the device;
2) Follow the prompts to attach the electrode pad to the patient’s chest, and insert the pad plug into the AED host jack;
(Source: People’s Daily Online)
3) If the AED analyzes (do not touch the patient duringcan affect the analysis of the AED) suggest a shock, press the shock button;
4) Immediately after defibrillation, perform 5 cycles of CPR, and the AED will automatically analyze the heart rhythm after two minutes.
When the patient moans, breathes spontaneously, or has other reactions, the rescue is successful. At this time, the patient’s reaction and breathing should still be observed at any time until professional medical personnel arrive to take over.
Also, don’t worry about rib fractures when you perform chest compressions, this is perfectly normal, and compressions should be continued as long as the chest can still rise and fall. If there is no AED at the rescue scene, continuous cardiac compressions are also effective.
Finally, Chun Yujun borrowed some of the remarks made by the management of the company who were “angry” from the previous Tencent graduates:
We are away from the ICU, and we really only have the distance of “one more shift”, think about it, use your healthy, young, energetic body, use one after another 20 Many hours of high-intensity overtime in exchange for a so-called “Business Breakthrough Award”, a glass trophy, and an incentive bonus of several thousand dollars, is it worth it?
Review Specialist for this issue
Editor: Dr. Chunyu
References:
[1] China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report Writing Group. Summary of China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2020 [J]. Chinese Journal of Circulation, 2021(6). DOI:10.3969/j .issn.1000-3614.2021.06.001.
[2]J. Ervasti et al. Long working hours and risk of 50 health conditions and mortality outcomes: a multicohort study in four European countries. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe 11 (2021) 100212
[3] What is the relationship between sudden death and overwork[J]. Science Grand View Garden, 2021(3).
[4] Zhao Zhimei, Chen Xiaosong, Yang Yijun, et al. Epidemiological analysis of 5516 cases of sudden death by autopsy in my country [J]. China Emergency Medicine, 2020(2). DOI: 10.3969/j. issn.1002-1949.2020.02.014.
[5]. How to rescue someone if they encounter sudden death? [J]. Chinese Community Physician, 2019, 35(08): 70.