Firefighters are known for having big hearts … but research has also shown they have astoundingly high rate of heart attacks and cardiac-related death. According to a 2007 Harvard Medical School study, cardiovascular events account for 45 percent of deaths among firefighters on duty. In contrast, heart attacks are considered responsible for only 15 percent of deaths that occur in conventional jobs.

That’s backed up by a year-long study conducted in 2008 at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta. Researchers of the project, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, examined hundreds of firefighters in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Members of that study group, they found, were 300 times more likely to suffer a heart attack at work than employees in any other profession. 

Tucson has an opportunity do work in that area as well. Dr. Wayne Peate, department physician for 21 fire agencies in Southern Arizona, and an associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, would like to test the use of ultrasound imaging to detect abnormalities that put firefighters at risk of cardiac disease. 

The Foundation is interested in helping with funding for the important study. More on that later …