42-Year-Career Firefighter-Paramedic Died at Home After Leaving Work Following Transient Chest Pain – Missouri

Details

• Personal Author:
  Smith, Denise L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  Line of Duty Death Report
  
  A 42-year-old career firefighter-paramedic (FF-P) experienced transient episodes of not feeling well and chest pain during a regularly scheduled 48-hour on-duty shift. The FF-P performed an electrocardiogram (ECG) on himself on both days but did not see any evidence of ischemia. At approximately 1300 hours of the second shift day, he saw an orthopedic physician for a hand injury sustained at work the previous day. Following that appointment, he was told to go home and let the swelling in the hand resolve. The FF-P had no known communications after 1420 hours. On the following morning, the FF-P was found deceased in his bed. The medical examiner's report listed the cause of death as acute coronary artery thrombus in the right coronary artery with probable dissection complicating severe coronary atherosclerosis. The autopsy also found left ventricular hypertrophy and hyperemic areas in the left ventricle. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigators concluded that the FF-P died of a myocardial infarction and that symptoms had developed while on duty. Key Recommendations - NIOSH offers the following recommendations to reduce the risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac arrest among firefighters at this and other fire departments across the country. Key Recommendation 1: Ensure that all firefighters are aware of the warning signs of a cardiovascular event and the atypical ways it can present.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cardiovascular Disease Emergency Responders Fatalities Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Heart Attacks Heart Disease Medical Fitness Evaluation OSHA Region 7 Paramedics
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Cardiovascular: Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease and Coronary Vascular Disease)
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Line of Duty Death Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF202005
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Missouri ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-13
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065461
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE F2020-05, 2021 Feb ; :1-13
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2019/06/08
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:546ce93072c88f5ca0cfcdb97e6b7e7bd84af6fd74900636de78c55033621b7834eb3c93497717d93026a4d272adee7d45603abf4d6dd51ddad9b5c447e9e15b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163325/cdc_163325_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 813.05 KB ]