As an extension of its Mumbai Heart Healthy city initiative, of which heart risk mitigation and heart health awareness is the key focus, Asian Heart Institute today trained over 50 fire brigade employees in Cardio-pulmonary-resuscitation (CPR) at Mumbai Fire Brigade Head office at Byculla.
Working in high temperatures increases the risk of suffering a heart attack: Research
Exposure to high temperature makes blood 66% more likely to form harmful clots.
A recent study may explain why heart disease is the leading cause of death among on-duty firefighters, the researchers from the University of Edinburgh said.
Sticky blood
A research report, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), and published in the journal ‘Circulation’ selected
Nineteen non-smoking, healthy firefighters at random.
They took part in exercises, including an attempted mock rescue from a two-storey structure, which exposed them to extremely high temperatures, while wearing heart monitors.
The following results emerged
- They found their core body temperatures remained high for three to four hours following exposure to the fire.
- They also found their blood became stickier and was about 66% more likely to form potentially harmful clots.
- Their blood vessels also failed to relax in response to medication.
The research team believe that the increase in clotting was caused by a combination of fluid loss due to sweating and an inflammatory response to the fire heat, which resulted in the blood becoming more concentrated and so more likely to clot.
Doctors at Asian Heart Institute, who are working on a CPR program for Mumbai’s firefighters in the city agree.
“ Any human being- exposed to high temperatures, has heightened haemo-concentration which predisposes a person to form clots. This could lead to heart attack. Hence CPR training for fire fighters is useful, not just for the communities they help; but also for their peers, says Dr.Vijay DSilva, medical director Asian Heart Institute.”
Studies have has shown a direct link between the heat and physical activity levels encountered by firefighters during the course of their duties and their risk of suffering a heart attack.
The good news is that there are simple measures, such as staying well hydrated, that firefighters can take to reduce this risk.
Overall, as a part of Mumbai Heart Healthy city , The Asian Heart Institute is planning to train 5000 Mumbaikars this year, including 1000 police personnel, and 25000 Mumbaikars over time.