Emergency workers need standard health check-ups to prevent heart events on job: Study
A new study has found that emergency workers including firefighters, police and health staff could benefit from regular health check-ups and monitoring to avoid heart events at work that might harm themselves or others.
The research has been published in the 'European Society of Cardiology Journal'. The study summed up existing knowledge on screening, surveillance and risk management in hazardous jobs - defined as those where cardiovascular disease has the potential to impact the safety of the employee and/or others and the employer has a duty to manage these risks. In addition to emergency workers, hazardous occupations included bus and lorry drivers, pilots, aircrew and astronauts.
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But the research highlighted that "the lack of consensus or contemporary evidence typically results in decisions being made based on expert opinion. This can result in a lack of consistency in clinical decision-making which is increasingly being challenged, both by employees and employers."
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The authors said more research was needed to determine the optimal balance between protecting workers and the public while avoiding career-ending false-positive results.
For firefighters, cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death while on duty, a trend that has increased over the last two decades. Heart attacks and sudden cardiac death account for 45 percent of deaths among fire-fighters while on active duty and primarily occur during fire suppression activities.
Review author Dr Iain T. Parsons of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK said, "If we take the example of firefighters, we know that the act of fire fighting is associated with sudden cardiac death from coronary artery disease. Presently fire services examine cardiovascular fitness, but the tests vary widely by country."
"In high hazard occupations, it is very common to apply a minimum physical fitness standard," he continued.
-PTC News
