Girl blogs about her work stress and dies days later because of overwork

This is such a sad story. Girl blogged about her stress in the office and her worries about her health due to overworking. She dies days later. From PinkMayFlower:

I just feel like I'm carrying a heavy baggage of few hundred kilos & I'll start to feel really weak & dizzy. Doc just said I'm really stressed out. sigh..... what should I do? Quit? or continue this ultra-super stressful job? I've got a contract of 6 mths to fulfill... 3 months to commit. If I quit now, I've got to pay back 1 mth's salary. Not worth it. If i quit after May, it won't be so bad. But I don't know if my health can tolerate til then. My mom's really worried & I can't do much to get less worried. Cos my focus was to earn lots of $. I really thought I was able to do everything, that I can be supergirl as well, but my health is worsening at a fast rate. Vitamin M(oney) isn't gonna cure my health. Just yesterday, I received an email from my job agency saying that a contract staff who's working in HP as well, passed away from heart attack, leaving his wife & kids... deja vu? coincidental? a warning sign? I dunno. I don't wanna end up dead for the sake of dough. The moral of the story is don't ever fall in love with your company or your job.

Her friend wrote on his blog that she died because of a blood clot in her leg as a result of sitting too long. From Kaiyan:

Her cause of death was mainly due to overwork. Doctor said that she sat down for too long a time and a blood clot formed at her legs. When she tried to stand up, the blood actually shot to her heart, causing her to collapse. Her Mom called the ambulance immediately but even on the way there, she was informed that MJ's condition was critical, asking her to be prepared. That was when she called Pamela (MJ's best friend since don't know when), then Pamela called me to inform me and her Mom called me just a minute after that. After that, all was written in the past blog which I decide to skip here. According to her Mom, she was working non-stop for the past 8 hours with the lap top on her lap, replying emails and work related stuff, so this proves what the doctors had examined as well.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a condition where a blood clot forms in a deep vein of the body, usually in the thigh or leg. What killed the poor girl above is a condition called pulmonary embolism. From PDR Heatlh:

If a blood clot forms in a deep vein, it can block the flow of blood, which prevents the tissues from draining properly. This causing excess fluid accumulation, swelling, warmth, and discomfort in the leg. A blood clot in a deep vein may also break off and travel back to the heart and into the lungs, causing a condition called pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism can be minor and go unnoticed, or it can be significant and cause difficulty breathing, sharp chest pain, and even death. Less commonly, the clots can also travel through the heart back to the rest of the body, including the brain. This is called a paradoxic embolism. A blood clot that travels this way to the brain can be a cause of stroke.

Researchers in New Zealand recently said that office workers are prone to such blood clots because they tend to sit rigidly for too long. From CBCNEWS:

"The study suggested that people develop clots in their legs from sitting three to four hours at a time," Toronto cardiologist Dr. Beth Abramson, a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, told CBC Newsworld.

"It wasn't common, but it was more common than we thought."

Certain segments of the population are at higher risk for clots because their clotting systems are more active, Abramson said. These include women on estrogen from the birth control pill, pregnant women and people being treated for cancer.

While researching for this story, I came across this news article dated way back in 2003 about a similar case. From San Jose Business Journal:

The report centers on a case from New Zealand in which a young man who spent up to 18 hours a day sitting at his computer nearly died after developing a massive blood clot that formed in his leg veins, broke off and traveled to his lungs, a condition called pulmonary embolism.

This new disorder has been termed "e-thrombosis" by the authors to describe what may become the 21st century variant of thrombosis associated with immobility from prolonged sitting. This condition was first described in people sitting in deck chairs in air raid shelters during the Blitz in London and subsequently identified with prolonged air travel.

Dr. Richard Beasley of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand and his colleagues warn that there may be a large unrecognised risk of developing blood clots in this situation when the widespread use of computers in so many aspects of modern life is considered.

There are ways you can prevent a potential lethal blood clot in your leg. From ClotCare:

* exercising the legs regularly -- take a brisk walk every day
* maintaining a reasonable body weight
* avoiding sitting or lying in bed for long periods of time
* avoiding tight-fitting, restrictive clothing
* sitting with both legs on the floor (uncrossed)

And remember there's more to life than just work, work and work. It's not worth losing your life over a job. Take a break, walk around in the office and then go back to your work, no matter how busy or tight your deadline is.

Also read:
High-5 Bread in Singapore is safe to eat
Beware of the pedicure