Patients in hospitals where nurses work long hours may be more likely to die of pneumonia, heart attack.

HealthDay reported that "patients in hospitals where nurses work long hours are much more likely to die of pneumonia and heart attack," according to a study published in the journal Nursing Research. Investigators "looked at patient outcomes and staffing information at 71 acute care hospitals in Illinois and North Carolina, along with survey responses from 633 nurses who worked at the hospitals." Nursing professor and study author Alison Trinkoff explained, "Alertness and vigilance required for providing good nursing care depend upon having an adequate duration of quality sleep and rest, and long work hours can impact the quality of nursing care and can increase the potential for error."