Why are so many Indian expatriates dying young?

Subin Daniel, a 26-year-old Indian technician, woke up feeling very groggy on a working day and was rushed to hospital. He underwent a brain scan in which the doctors diagnosed abnormalities and, consequently, he was moved to a super-speciality hospital in Abu Dhabi for surgery. However, before he could be prepared for the surgery, he was declared brain dead, a colleague of Daniel told Gulf News.

Daniels’s family, friends and colleagues have yet to come out of shock. The incident happened a few weeks ago.

Daniel was one among the growing number of young Indians in the UAE who meet with unexpected and sudden death despite having no history of serious ailments.

Incidents of young Indians dying due to sudden heart and brain attacks are on the rise, according to the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and medical practitioners. Many of them being sole-breadwinners, their deaths have left their families in crisis.

In the case of Daniel, although he was young and an active man, according to his friend, who requested anonymity, “he was obese,” the friend told Gulf News. “Later we came to know that he was regularly suffering from ear pain, a condition he ignored.”

Doctors subsequently identified the condition as an early symptom of brain disease, said the colleague.

Another sudden death was that of Venu Gopal Krishnan, 39, an engineering manager working in Abu Dhabi.

On September 23, a Friday, he was playing a video game with his seventh-grader son at home when he experienced chest pain. He walked with his wife to the medical clinic next door in the Musaffah residential area, where he lived, and suffered sudden cardiac arrest and died, said a friend.

Krishnan’s wife, who is in her mid-thirties, was not working and, following her husband’s death, she and her two school-going children returned to India. “He never had a history of serious ailments. Although he had blood pressure and cholesterol, they were under control,” the friend said.

"They need financial support, and our college alumni association is planning to do something for them,” the friend told Gulf News.

In the early hours of March 26 this year, Sajan K. John, 43, a business development executive, was found dead in his car that was parked near his home in Musaffah area. He was seen sitting in the driver’s seat and appeared to be sleeping.

“Sometimes he would stay back in his office to complete work and get home late in the night or even early in the morning,” his wife told Gulf News. “When he did not answer my calls that morning, we searched the area and found him in the car,” his wife told Gulf News.

John’s death certificate cited cardiac arrest as the cause of death. He, too, did not have a history of any serious health problems except blood pressure and cholesterol, which were under control, his wife said. Moreover, three months back, John underwent a health check-up including the treadmill test and an electrocardiogram (ECG), and both did not raise any cause for concern, she said.

“He avoided unhealthy food,” she said.

Employed as a nurse, John’s wife decided to stay back in Abu Dhabi along with her son who is studying in the ninth grade.

In yet another incident, Georgie Abraham, 43, a pipeline engineer, collapsed at his home in Abu Dhabi city one morning early this year. His wife called for an ambulance and he was pronounced dead when he reached the hospital. The cause of death was cardiac arrest, Abraham’s colleague told Gulf News.

Abraham, too, did not have a history of major health problems but he was under stress having earlier lost his job (in an oil-related company), he said.

Saleem Avaran, 48, was enjoying a cup of tea at a restaurant in Musaffah when he collapsed at around 7.30am on September 28. The owner of an advertising firm, he was rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival, his brother said. He, too, did not have any serious ailments although he was taking medicine for cholesterol that was under control, said his brother. Avaran is survived by his wife and five children.

Mohan Ramanthali, an Indian public relations officer who helps community members to repatriate bodies, said he had come across a similar case a year ago. A 41-year old Indian was driving in Musaffah when he started to feel dizzy. “So he stopped the car and stepped out, and collapsed. He was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital,” said Ramanthali, 55.

Ramanthali said he has noticed an increase in the number of deaths of young Indians in recent years. He attributes the rise to the impact of stress in modern-day living.

“Mostly, it is due to stress,” he said. “Many people are worried about job security. And most people have to depend on themselves and they also perhaps lack a network of friends and family to share their problems.”

source: GULF NEWS