By Irfan Mohammed
Jeddah: The shocking death of Mohammed Muneeruddin, brother of a popular Hyderabadi hotelier in Riyadh recently has raised several health concerns among NRIs hailing from Hyderabad in Riyadh.
Similar case took place earlier too
Muneer was perfectly well when he died in Riyadh due to heart attack recently, same case with 45 years old Syed Zahoor of Muradnagar who also died in Riyadh for same reason. Of late, several young Indians have been succumbing to heart attack in the gulf region.
According to Indian diplomatic sources in Riyadh and Jeddah there has been increase in heart attack deaths in the Kingdom.
What statistics reveals?
A recent statistics revealed by Indian authorities in UAE not only confined to their but indicates the trend in the region.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai said 397 out of 698 Indians who died between January and June this year succumbed to heart attack.
Six out of 10 Indian deaths in Dubai, Sharjah and northern emirates were attributed to cardiac arrest and seven out of 10 Indians who died in Abu Dhabi in the first half of the year for the same reason, reported Gulf News.
The heart attack caused the deaths of 131 of 182 Indians — or 72 per cent — who died in Abu Dhabi from January to June this year. Among them 57 were in the 20-40 age group, 14 in the 20-30 group and 43 in the 30-40 group, report said.
A total of 1759 Indians deaths reported in 2018 in UAE out of it 1052 died due to heart attack.
The figure highlights such deaths in UAE alone but heart attack cause lion share of Indian deaths in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the region.
“The psychological stress amid of job instability is one of the prime reasons for some to drive towards Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in the region”, commented Abdul Jabbar, President of Telangana NRI Forum in Riyadh.
Stress, anxiety, and depression can manifest into various physical and mental health concerns in NRI worker who is away from home and sole bread winner of the family, Jabber added.
Demand to classify heart attack death as ‘professional hazard death’
“We demand to classify heart attack death as professional hazard death for younger workers in the gulf region”, Gulf migrants activist Manda Bheem Reddy said.
He underscored that youth reaching Gulf region only after health fitness but desert environment in gulf is attributing to heart attack therefore it should be treated as professional illness.
Bheem Reddy said that people who died with heart attack were deprived of any financial compensation.
He opined that volatile job market in gulf causing stress among many Telangana workers thus become most vulnerable heart and other health issues.