Majority of corporate employees are prone to heart diseases due to high stress levels, demanding schedules and poor eating habits, according to a survey by industry body Assocham.

About 72 per cent of corporates are more prone to the cardiovascular diseases due to high stress levels, poor eating habits, and long working hours, it said.

The chamber said it has surveyed 2,000 employees aged between 20 years and 49 years working in various sectors like BPO, IT, telecom and energy.

“Sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and poor eating habits are making millions of urban Indians face a high risk of heart disease,” Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

Majority of the respondents said they are overweight which make them more prone to heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems due to high levels of blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar, he added.

Night shift workers are more at risk than day workers of suffering a stroke or heart attack, the study said.

Shift work has long been known to disrupt the body clock and be linked to high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes which are linked to heart problems.

Further, it said, corporate employees in Delhi are most prone to heart diseases. Bangalore, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Pune follow Delhi in that order.

The survey covered 18 broad sectors, with maximum share contributed by employees from IT and BPO, followed by consumer durables, construction, energy, health care, telecom and steel.

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