Firefighters at Higher Risk of Dying from Heart Disease
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought my job would give me a stroke but for firefighters, the risk of heart disease related to the job is real. Take a look at these amazing statistics from a study of firefighter deaths:
- Firefighters are 12 to 136 times more likely to die of heart disease when putting out a fire.
- Firefighters are 3 to 14 times more likely to die of heart disease while responding to an alarm.
- Firefighters are 2 to 10.5 times more likely to die of heart disease while returning from an alarm.
- Firefighters are 3 to 7 times more likely to die of heart disease during physical training .
These are daunting statistics. In an interview with Newsweek, Dr. Stefanos Kales, an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Public Health explains:
NEWSWEEK: What causes these sudden heart attacks among firefighters?
Dr. Stefanos Kales: Firefighters spend lots of time that’s sedentary. The emergencies come up in an unexpected and unpredictable way, maybe even when they’re asleep. So there’s no warm-up period—they have to respond right away. Past studies have shown that when the alarm sounds, firefighters’ heart rate and blood pressure start going up markedly. Then they put on up to 50 pounds of gear, so that starts putting an extra strain on the heart. And if they’re going into the fire, they’re going to wear a self-contained breathing apparatus, which adds extra weight and heat. So you have the heat of the fire along with the various toxic gases and particles they’re exposed to, which can have adverse effects on the heart. With all this equipment on, plus the heat, they may be going up stairs, may be breaking down a door, taking someone out of the building—all of these activities are very stressful for the heart.
We count on our firefighters to do so much for us. I hope they’re getting the education they need to take care of themselves too.
What other jobs do you think put workers at similar risk? I’m thinking of the lifeguards who work for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) especially those who patrol the River Thames in front of my house as part of the Thames Search and Rescue Service.
Tags: firefighters, firefighting, heart, heart disease, diseases, illness, health, medicine, cardiovascular disease
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POSTED IN: Hearty News
1 opinion for Firefighters at Higher Risk of Dying from Heart Disease
Yolanda
Mar 26, 2007 at 10:42 am
Our firefighters are strong enough to respond all sorts of fire emergency and I’m sure they’re also careful enough to take care of their self. I think that they have some kind of training about breathing and heart conditions. If not, then this information must be taught to all firefighters.
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