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As a second-year analyst in a large European bank, Laura frequently worked until 4 am, suffered a heart attack, and was hospitalized three times in two years. She said that the doctors told her "if you keep working, you will die".
Laura is not the real name of the finance professional. She asked Business Insider not to name her or the bank for fear of retaliation. In describing her time spent at the bank, she said that she was working day and night, and that she was prevented from taking sick leave even after contracting a throat infection that caused her to get sick. Is spread to his heart in a case of infective endocarditis.
In the early morning, a Monday morning of 2015, she got up in bed with pains in the chest. "I had essentially a heart attack," she said. Previously, she was in good health and was not taking medication.
She left the bank shortly thereafter.
"My husband told me to go out [saying]" money is not worth it, "she said.
Young bankers are facing health problems
Young bankers between the ages of 20 and 30 are admitted to the hospital more often with heart problems and heart attacks, British cardiologists told Business Insider
Arjun Ghosh , a consulting cardiologist at London's Barts Heart Center, estimated that "in the last decade, bankers under the age of 30 have seen their heart attacks increase by 10%." About one in ten patients in this age group 39, age works in finance.
This occurs even when banks have taken steps to reduce the workload and stress of their junior staff, such as demanding the withdrawal of Saturdays after the death of a trainee of Bank of America in 2013.
The efforts of the big banks to reduce e the hours of work of their employees, Dr. Syed Ahsan, a cardiologist with a clinic in Canary Wharf, said that he has not seen any evidence of change.
"In the investment bank, I think everything they say [the banks] … the hours and pressures exerted on these people are enormous, even if they do things. things to improve – I do not think it changes, "he said.
Certainly, the increase in heart attacks among young bankers reflects similar trends in the general population , say the cardiologists, although there is still no official research published to reflect this.
"It's so common now – young people who have a heart attack, this 39 is pretty common not to shock … It's not "Oh my god, they're only 25 years old!", "Dr. Ahmed Elghamaz, consultant cardiologist at London North West University Hospital has stated. "We are no longer shocked."
The increase is perhaps the result of an unhealthy and busy lifestyle with people working longer than in the past, said Dr. Elghamaz.
Doctors claim to meet regularly with young bankers with two types of heart problems: cardiac arrhythmia and myocarditis, both of which can lead to a fatal heart attack and are more likely to be caused by excessive work, stress and drug use.
Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart, which can be caused by stress or a viral infection that spreads in the body, and the arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat that can be caused by tension and pain. 39, drug use.
The most common of the two heart diseases among bankers under the age of 30 is myocarditis, said Business Insider, and some cardiologists said they mostly saw it in people whose immune system was weakened by tiredness and unhealthy life.
The Whitehall study, conducted by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, has followed more than 10,000 British officials since the mid-1980s and has shown that 68% of workers were chronically stressed. attack or chest pain.
There is a culture of drug use
. A culture of drug use in business environments also plays a role.
Dr. Ashan said that he recently treated a banker with heart problems in his late twenties. "He was using more and more cocaine, he was working 12 to 14 hours a day, he was barely sleeping, and he arrived with episodes of darkness and palpitations," he said.
The trends that the three cardiologists shared with BI are anecdotal, but they called for more research to be done on heart disease in young people, and their relationship to stress and the work environment.
Professor Alexandra Michel, a researcher in organizational and behavioral research at the University of Pennsylvania, has studied the health and psychology of investment bankers for over 15 years.
In a research article published in 2012 by Administrative Science Quarterly, she tracked four groups of investment bankers in two different banks early in their careers and tracked their progress over 10 years. In their fourth year, all the bankers involved in the study had developed a mental or physical health problem.
"Not only are there new types of diseases, many of which relate to burnout, but also to the illness that people experience later in life, but they come earlier in life these young bankers a whole bunch of health problems, "said Michel Business Insider.
Work practices on Wall Street, which involve a super-fast environment in which employees are tied to their electronic devices 24 hours a day. 24 and 7 days a week, also extend to other industries.This could lead to a new set of health problems for workers outside of finance, said Michel.
Doctors have asked that more research be done and that action be taken.
"There needs to be more research on the direct impact of working conditions, hours of work, stress at work and how this correlates with heart events," said Dr. Ashan.
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