Firefighters Heart Risks

A large U.S. study suggests firefighters face a far greater risk of dying of heart problems while battling a blaze than was thought. They offer more evidence that firefighters need to stay in shape. It is scary to think that the risk of a heart-related death while putting out a fire was up to 100 times higher than the risk during down time. It was found by Harvard researchers that fighting fires accounts for only a small percentage of these worker's time. About 100 firefighters die in the line of duty each year and previous research has shown that nearly half of the deaths are due to heart disease. About 70% of the one million firefighters are volunteers. Diet and exercise should be a priority for the fire house. You may be able to prevent some of these deaths by paying attention to the underlying risk factors and better fitness programs should be the goal.