For a healthy heart, you need to rest too...

Author unknown - this was forwarded to me in email....

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India

 

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

                                                        

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was anavid marathoner (in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

 

Was it the stress?

A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

 

The Real Reason

However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':

http://connect. in.com/ranjan- das/play- video-boss- day-out-ranjan- das-of-sap- india-229111- 807ecfcf1ad96603 6c289b3ba6c376f2 530d7484. html

Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep (and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled).

 

The Evidence

Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of 'Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep'. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

 

Some Excerpts:

 

·        Short sleep duration (<5 or 5-6 hours) increased risk for high BP by 350% to 500% compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009.

As you know, high BP kills.

 

·        Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

 

·        Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. Paper published in 1999.

 

·        Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

 

·        Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin- 6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis andheart disease. Paper published in 2004.

 

·        Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

 

Ideal Sleep

For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

 

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

 

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess (lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (I've been there, done that L)

 

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

 

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep, take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.

 

 

Interpretation: Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don't like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that lineJ)

In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising (marathoning! ), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.

If you are not getting enough sleep (7 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep. J

 

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance. Please forward this mail to as many of your colleagues as possible, especially those who might be short-changing their sleep. If we can save even one young life because of this email, I would be the happiest person on earth.

 

Take Care of Your Heart

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees .    Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress? Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life. Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart? Ans: 1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil 2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longti me 3. Quit smoking 4. Control weight 5. Control blood pressure and sugar Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?  Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.  Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive? Ans: All oils are bad . Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension? Ans : No. Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart? Ans: No  Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks? Ans : No. Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ? Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.  Qn: How would you define junk food? Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas,Haldirams, Gardens and even masala dosas. Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters?  Ans:  Lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans. Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food? Ans : Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.   Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart? Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints  Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?   Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.   Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments? Ans: Yoga helps.  Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition? Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) .... Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend? Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.    Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble? Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG. Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy? Ans: Yes. Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack? Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position, place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.   Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women? Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45. Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?   Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.  Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age (I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age? Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.. Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines? Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.  Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?  Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok.. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.  Qn: Does headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks? Ans : No.  Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)? Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe. Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?   Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles. Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease? Ans : No. Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems? Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity. Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true? Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar? Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics. Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation? Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight..