Sudden Death of Young Indian Techies Due to Heart Attack Raises Concern

Death due to heart attack among young techies without any health issues, is increasingly occurring in the US. Recently, two persons, including a techie and a student, died due to heart attack in the foreign country and their parents in India were devastated. The deaths raises several questions if software jobs are silently mounting pressure among the techies, leading to hypertension and subsequent heart attacks.

While some doctors felt that it is prolonged working hours and irregular eating habits that could lead to heart attacks, many techies blamed the increasing pressure at work place and strict project deadlines for the sudden heart-related health issues.

On September 3, 37-year-old Sai Krishna Rama Chander Raji Alluri, passed away suddenly after he went for an evening walk in Virginia, US. He belonged to Andhra Pradesh and was a graduate from the Indiana Wesleyan University. When he failed to return to the room even after a few hours from going out, his roommates contacted 911. Police informed the roommates that Sai died o heart attack. Raju went to the US to complete his master’s degree and work hard towards a prosperous life.

In August, Pratik Pandey, a 35-year-old Microsoft engineer, was found lying face-down in the courtyard of the campus. He swiped into the Microsoft’s Mountain View office at 7.50 pm. He passed away at 2 am. His uncle, Manoj Pandey, found about the tragedy and Santa Clara County Medical Examinster’s initial report pointed to a possible heart attack. Born in Indore, Pandey shifted to the US nearly a decade ago to pursue a master’s degree at San Jose State University. He worked at Apple, Illumina, and Walmart Labs, and joined Microsoft in July 2020.

In yet another shocking incident, a software engineer from Konaseema district, died of cardiac arrest on May 17. He was scheduled to visit his house in Mamidikuduru to begin preparations for his marriage scheduled on June 15, but he came back in a coffin from the US. Twentyeight-year-old Mohammad Thurab Ali was working as a techie in Washington DC. His family, relatives and acquaintances were disturbed due to the sudden death, ahead of his marriage.

The deaths could possibly be due to stress and working hours extending late into the night, a very common feature in software engineers’ lives. Doctors suggest that techies should take care of their health and try to strike a work-life balance, before long working hours take a toll on life.