Work from home culture taking a toll on the young: Health experts

The Work from home culture for the past 18 months due to the Covid19 pandemic has started taking a toll on many young working professionals who have led sedentary lifestyles due to it It is a matter of concern said health experts after a 27yearold complained of headache and collapsed at her house in Vikhroli East on Tuesday afternoon Health experts have advised people to refrain from working for long hours at home and insist on physical movement and a healthy diet to avoid deep vein thrombosis cardiac event and strokeThe young woman was taken to Godrej hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival During the autopsy a blood clot of nearly 2 cm was found in her left lung pulmonary embolismmdasha blood clot blocks part of the blood flow as the reason for deathThe Vikhroli police sent the body for autopsy to the Rajawadi postmortem centre Autopsy surgeon Dr Rahul Jadhav said ldquoIt was shocking that a young lady lost her life due to pulmonary embolism The blood clot on her left lung might have been due to deep vein thrombosis It may have passed through the blood and reached her left lung causing sudden death Unfortunately the victim was obese and worked from home With no physical activity work pressure and sedentary lifestyle might be the triggerrdquolsquoMandatory 1hour exercise every dayrsquoldquoIt is important that young professionals who work from home for long hours make it a habit to take breaks at regular intervals and mandatorily exercise for an hour daily to maintain their work and health balancerdquo added Dr JadhavldquoEveryone should monitor for signs of clots and possible stroke or heart attack namely facial drooping or loss of speech weakness of one arm or leg difficulty speaking new swelling tenderness pain or discoloration in the arms or legs sudden shortness of breath indicating a pulmonary embolism or chest pain radiating to the neck arms jaw or back etc The fundamental principle is to keep the blood flowing with moderate mobilityrdquo said Dr Subhash Hira professor of Global Health at the University of WashingtonSeattleWhen asked if the womanrsquos death could be from a Covid19 vaccine reaction he said ldquoWe do not have any information about the vaccine received or the duration between the second vaccine and the event of death Usually few cases of coagulation post vaccines have been reported but it hasnrsquot led to serious cases of embolism Any infection that leads to inflammation in the blood can lead to clots and when they get dislodged they can travel to the heart brain or lungs thereby causing embolism paralysis heart attack and acute respiratory distress syndrome ARDS that could have led to the death Long working hours no mobility and obesity were additional risk factors in her caserdquolsquoPhysical and mental health affectedrsquoldquoWork from home as well as a sedentary and isolated lifestyle has led to both mental and physical problems Anxiety stress and social isolation have led to upsurgence of psychiatric diseases such as depression Rapid weight gain hypercholesterolemia and increased incidence of diabetes have led to adverse vascular consequences Deep vein thrombosis cardiac events and strokes despite being Covidnegative have claimed many lives Sudden deaths in the early hours of the morning have been seen especially in young individuals The exact cause of these events continues to be debatable Regular exercise avoiding fast foods and adequate hydration are advisable to prevent cardiac events and strokesrdquo said Dr Ketan Vagholkar professor of surgery at DY Patil Medical collegelsquoAvoid prolonged sittingrsquoldquoIn some individuals thrombosis in leg veins occurs due to prolonged seating without much movement and because of that pulmonary embolism which is a lifethreatening condition can be caused Whenever we have to sit for a longer time always make sure to take small breaks and walk a little Regular walking or any kind of exercise is always betterrdquo said Dr Santosh Bansode head of the department Emergency Medicine at Wockhardt HospitalDr Wiqar Shaikh professor of medicine Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals said ldquoWork from home has resulted in some unwarranted ailments particularly in the younger and middleaged population who spend hours on end without physical activityrdquoDr Wiqar Shaikhrsquos solutions1 Every hour take a break for a few minutes and walk around the home2 Drink adequate fluids to maintain hydration3 Avoid midmeal snacking4 Eat plenty of green vegetables and fruits5 If it is not possible to go out walk within the house for half an hour twice daily6 A treadmill if affordable in the home would be ideal for adequate exercise