Long Work Hours, Scant Sleep, Linked to Heart Attack
(NY, Reuters Health, 7/10/02)

Ying Liu of the National Cancer Center in Tokyo and associates studied 260 men who had suffered non-fatal heart attacks, plus 445 of similar age and residence who had not. The researchers found that men whose average work week was greater than 60 hours for the past year were twice as likely to have heart attacks as those who averaged 40 or fewer hours. In addition, men who slept 5 or fewer hours for each working day had double the heart attack risk compared to those sleeping for more than 5 hours. These findings show that overwork and sleep-deprivation are associated with heart attack, but further studies will have to be done to establish a causative link.