Sleeping pills up risk of heart attacks by 50pc
PureGym, based in Britain, asked 2,000 people employed in a wide range of professions ab! out their lifestyle choices during an average working week.
Doct! ors scored consistently badly when asked about their eating, exercising and sleeping habits, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
The poll revealed that doctors are one of the most likely groups who do not exercise at all, with almost a quarter admitting to doing no form of regular workout.
They are also in the profession that survives on the least amount of sleep, catching on average just five hours of shut eye in a 24 hour period, and the profession most likely to get through the day without a single sit down meal.
“We were surprised to learn that doctors typically live the unhealthiest lifestyles, but when you consider the hours they work and the stress that must come with the job, you can understand why perhaps they let their own health take less of a priority than the health of the patients they care for,” said PureGym spokesperson Paul Kirwin.
Taxi drivers are also prone to making unhealthy lifestyle choices, according to the survey which found that,! along with public transport drivers and lorry drivers, they were the least likely to do any form of regular exercise. Taxi drivers also admitted to skipping meals and snacking on the go regularly.
London – A new study suggests that sleeping pills taken by tens of thousands of Britons can increase the risk of heart attacks by up to 50 percent.
Scientists found that zolpidem, which is sold under the brand name Stilnoct in the UK, is linked with a dramatic rise in the number of life-threatening cardiac events, the Daily Express reported.
Four standard dose pills a year – 35 milligrams – send the risk soaring by around 20 percent.
People taking the equivalent of 60 tablets a year could see the threat jump by half.
The study – presented to the world’s biggest cardiology conference – is the first to connect the drug with cardiovascular problems.
Scientists cannot be fully certain yet that sleeping pills are causing heart problems – and the manufacturers say there are no known adverse cardiac reactions to zolpidem.
However, the researchers say the results from a study of more than 5,000 people are sufficiently worrying for “further large-scale and in-depth investigations”.
