综合一区欧美国产,99国产麻豆免费精品,九九精品黄色录像,亚洲激情青青草,久久亚洲熟妇熟,中文字幕av在线播放,国产一区二区卡,九九久久国产精品,久久精品视频免费

   

Firefighters face heart risks in a blaze

(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-22 09:49

Firefighters face a far greater risk of dying of heart problems while battling a blaze than was thought, suggests a large US study that offers more evidence of their need to stay in shape. The risk of a heart-related death while putting out a fire was up to 100 times higher than the risk during down time, Harvard researchers found, even though fighting fires accounts for only a small percentage of these workers' time.


A firefighter works a fire along Highway 79 in Gilman Hot Springs, Calif. in this 2006 file photo. [AP]
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. The vast majority - about 70 percent - of the nation's roughly 1 million firefighters are volunteers.

Experts say diet and exercise should be priorities at the firehouse.

"You may not be able to prevent all these deaths, but to the degree you can prevent some deaths by paying attention to underlying risk factors and better fitness programs, that's the goal," said Dr. Linda Rosenstock, dean of the UCLA School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study.

The study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, doesn't address whether firefighters have an overall higher risk of dying from heart disease than the general population.

Rosenstock said fire departments could do more to improve health by requiring annual physicals and fitness tests. Departments also should have wellness and fitness programs to reduce heart disease risk factors such as obesity and high blood pressure, she said.

Firefighting is a physically demanding job that involves heavy lifting of equipment and exposure to toxic chemicals. Recruits are generally healthy and physically fit, but their health can decline over time because many firehouses don't require regular exercise or yearly medical exams. Also, the health requirements are usually less stringent for volunteers, who tend to continue firefighting as they age, a time when most heart problems occur.

In the Harvard study, researchers examined a federal registry of 1,144 on-duty firefighter deaths between 1994 and 2004. Excluded were the 343 firefighters who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Nearly 40 percent - or 449 - of the on-duty deaths during that period were due to heart disease. Thirty-two percent of the heart-related deaths occurred while fighting blazes; 13 percent responding to an alarm; 17 percent returning from a call and 13 percent during physical training.

The researchers also calculated the odds of dying from a heart attack by taking into account the estimated amount of time spent performing different duties.

They found the risk of death from heart disease was highest during active firefighting - up to 100 times greater than the risk of dying during administrative work - though firefighting made up no more than 5 percent of a firefighters' time. Increased risk of death was also found for other emergency duties such as responding to a call and returning from the scene of a fire.
12  


Top World News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
恩平市| 沅陵县| 鹤峰县| 淮阳县| 武汉市| 军事| 镇平县| 镶黄旗| 建瓯市| 安顺市| 吕梁市| 凌云县| 固阳县| 太康县| 克拉玛依市| 高雄县| 江安县| 连南| 营口市| 铜鼓县| 清流县| 湘西| 都匀市| 鄢陵县| 梅州市| 鄢陵县| 宜兰市| 兰溪市| 云阳县| 蓬莱市| 革吉县| 祁门县| 瑞昌市| 抚顺市| 肃南| 攀枝花市| 治多县| 石河子市| 台前县| 建宁县| 夏邑县|