Findings from State University of New York advance knowledge in cardiology
2009 AUG 3 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to a study from the United States, "Cardiovascular deaths among on-duty firefighters are high-double that of police officers and quadruple that of first responders. The aim of this pilot study was to establish the feasibility of obtaining high-resolution electrocardiograms (ECGs) of on-duty firefighters useful for detecting ECG predictors for cardiac events." "Twenty-eight professional firefighters (age, 46 +/- 6 years) wore a 12-lead ECG Holter for 24 hours (16 hours while on duty and 8 hours postcluty). All activities, including fire and medical calls, were monitored. On average, the recordings were 92% analyzable. All were in the sinus, with a heart rate of 80 +/- 11 beats per minute (range, 35-188 beats per minute). The average rr50 over the 24-hour Holier study was 6.2% +/- 6% (range, 1%-23%) and the average square root mean square successive differences (RMSSD), NN intervals was 81 +/- 55 (range, 24-209). Using the QRS/T-simple formula, the average spatial QRS-T angle was 104 degrees +/- 17 degrees (range, 78 degrees-132 degrees). Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia occurred irrespective of activity or time of day in 3 (11%) firefighters, which was significantly higher than in comparable normal populations (P < .05). This preliminary work demonstrates that it is feasible to obtain high-resolution ECGs during firefighting activities and further points to the high prevalence of dysrhythmias among firefighters," wrote M.G. Carey and colleagues, State University of New York. The researchers concluded: "The strategy of continuous field monitoring of firefighters could provide new insight into the association between their specific professional lifestyle and high cardiac risks." Carey and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing (High-Resolution 12-Lead Electrocardiograms of On-Duty Professional Firefighters A Pilot Feasibility Study. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 2009;24(4):261-267). For more information, contact M.G. Carey, SUNY Buffalo, School Nursing, 818 Kimball Tower, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA. Publisher contact information for the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing is: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 530 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106-3621, USA. Keywords: United States, Buffalo, Cardiology, Cardiovascular, Sudden Cardiac Death, Tachycardia, Ventricular Tachycardia, State University of New York. This article was prepared by Cardiovascular Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Cardiovascular Week via NewsRx.com.
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