Major Suffers Sudden Cardiac Death During Physical Fitness Training – Kentucky

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baldwin, Tommy N. ; Hales, Thomas R.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Description:
  Death in the Line of Duty…a Summary of a NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation
  
  On January 17, 2010, a 51-year-old male volunteer Major responded to a reported residential fire. The reported fire turned out to be steam from a shower. Three hours after returning home, the Major went to exercise at a local fitness facility with his trainer. After walking on a treadmill for approximately 25 minutes, the Major had a short cool down period when he suddenly collapsed. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and advanced life support were begun as an ambulance was requested. Despite CPR and advanced life support by the fitness center staff, fire department (FD) emergency medical technicians, ambulance paramedics, and hospital's emergency department (ED) staff, the Major died. The death certificate, completed by the attending physician, listed "ischemic heart disease with cardiac arrest" due to "coronary artery disease" as the cause of death. The autopsy, completed by the County Coroner, listed "ischemic heart disease" as the cause of death. Given the Major's severe underlying coronary artery disease (CAD), NIOSH investigators concluded that the physical exertion involved in performing physical fitness training triggered his sudden cardiac death. NIOSH investigators offer the following recommendations to address general safety and health issues. It is unclear if these recommendations would have prevented the Major's death: 1. Perform an annual physical performance (physical ability) evaluation. 2. Phase in a comprehensive wellness and fitness program for fire fighters.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Emergency Responders Firefighters Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-system-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Medical-screening OSHA Region 4 Physical-fitness
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Cardiovascular: Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction, Coronary Artery Disease and Coronary Vascular Disease) ; Cardiovascular: Arrhythmia
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Death in the Line of Duty Report
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFFFACEF201008
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20037344
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-114195
• 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 F2010-08, 2010 Jun ; :1-12
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services: Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2010/01/17
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:15fa2900cc550fb030e1c7cbe2c8776826c0b832fee057ce50f4ebc5cfaca75ca7b03872c0c8f0a91f29f8f781608dc1580f4dcddc6cd8b5a6c59b5c8b569167
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/163544/cdc_163544_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 497.27 KB ]