The diet that seems to be most effective at minimizing heart disease and keeping obesity at bay is a diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. Cutting carbs and eliminating sugar is absolutely essential to keep both men and women in law enforcement and the general population healthy. Previous studies have shown that police officers have higher rates of CVD risk factors and cardiovascular morbidity than other groups (Franke et al., 2002; Ramey et al., 2009; Ramey et al., 2011). In this study, we compared police officers with the reported results of studies that focused on working adults. Our results are consistent with those previously reported: a higher percentage of police officers were obese and had MetSyn. In addition to these more traditional CVD risk factors, we found a higher prevalence of depression and a higher percentage of police officers who work outside the day and sleep less than six hours a night than other working adults. Previous research has shown that police officers are a well-known occupational group with high levels of stress (Collins & Gibbs, 2003) and that police-related stress can predispose officers to higher rates of CVD-related morbidity and mortality (Franke, Collins& Hinz, 1998). It is important to note that stress triggers an inflammatory process due to CVD, which has been observed in 40% of atherosclerotic patients without traditional CVD risk factors (Black & Garbutt, 2002). This path could be supported by the results of the present study. With this data, it is imperative that public servants stay fit throughout their careers. This appropriate way of thinking must be forged during the initial training during the courses of the academy. Fitness should not be used as a punishment, the cliché of «let me down and give me twenty» only associates a negative connotation with exercise.
After graduation, young officers should expect them to continue to meet fitness standards in the same way that they must continue to meet qualification standards with service weapons, speedometers, intoxicators, etc. In addition to medicine, Dr. Sheinberg`s passion is law enforcement. He is a licensed peace officer for the State of Texas, a lieutenant with the Lakeway Police Department, and a reserve soldier with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Previously, he served as Special Deputy United States Marshal in the Lonestar Fugitive Task Force. Dr. Jonathan Sheinberg has worked in law enforcement since 1989 and is currently a lieutenant with the Travis County Sheriff`s Department in Texas. He is also a board-certified cardiologist and has been working in the health field for almost as long. A heart attack (also called myocardial infarction) occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked, most often due to an accumulation of fat, cholesterol, blood clots, and other substances that form plaque in the arteries that supply the heart (coronary arteries).
Interrupted blood flow can damage or destroy part of the heart muscle. Studies have shown that law enforcement officers live an average of 15 years less than the rest of the population. That`s an incredible statistic! One of the reasons for this gap in life expectancy is the disproportionate risk of heart disease for law enforcement officials. According to the American Heart Association, the average age of a police officer who suffers a heart attack is 49, compared to 67 for the general public. From a pragmatic point of view, the combination of calcium score and Lp-PLA2 detection is extremely useful for detecting coronary heart disease years before a heart attack. After examining more than 3800 police officers without symptoms of heart disease, it was found that 31% had a positive calcium level, 26% had an increase in Lp-Pla2, but only 7% had both markers, making the need to evaluate both tests invaluable. Shockingly, this data clearly shows that of the 3836 agents examined, 64% showed signs of undiagnosed coronary artery disease. [12] A disease that can be successfully identified and treated, resulting in fewer public servants succumbing to heart attacks and becoming statistics. An Australian dies every two minutes from heart complications For the past decade, the Rosemount Police Department has mourned the loss of Sergeant James O`Leary and Sergeant Bryan Burkhalter. Tragically, both non-commissioned officers suffered a sudden cardiac arrest within five years of their last shifts.
My name is Dr. Jon Sheinberg. I am a police officer and a doctor, and I am here to help you save your life. Most of you don`t realize that your risk of dying from a heart attack is much higher than you think. But this does not have to be the case. We now have the ability to detect, treat and prevent heart disease in its early stages, and prevent you from having a heart attack. This is a big problem. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death among police officers.
Most heart attacks are not even counted because they occur outside of working hours. If an officer has a bad shift, if he is involved in the use of force, if he has to perform CPR, if he is in pursuit, the adrenaline rush that occurs does not dissipate by the time the shift ends. It lasts for hours. Heart attacks often occur several hours after that first adrenaline rush. In this study, we found that police officers have higher levels of traditional and non-traditional CVD risk factors than other working adults. To our knowledge, this is the first comparison of the main risk factors for CVD between a sample of police officers and the U.S. workforce in general. Our findings underscore the need to extend the scope of demographic data that define health inequalities to the profession, as this factor can contribute significantly to an individual`s overall health and well-being. Future studies should re-examine this comparison with other risk factors for traditional and non-traditional CVD and be extended to other occupational groups. Paramedics can provide oxygen and medication and monitor your blood pressure and heart rate to avoid complications while taking you to the emergency room.
Healthcare professionals can also revive you if you experience cardiac arrest. Although the classic symptoms of a heart attack are usually easy to recognize (pain, sweating, shortness of breath); Other more subtle signs may not be. Unfortunately, the most vague symptoms are often ignored. This can be a fatal mistake. In addition, not all symptoms are immediate; It can take weeks for them to develop. In addition, not all myocardial infarctions cause cardiac arrest; However, this does not mean that significant heart damage has not occurred. Police officers have one of the worst health profiles for cardiovascular disease (CVD) of any occupation. The objective of this study was to determine whether the officers in the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study (between 2004 and 2009) had a more damaging CV profile than the U.S.
workforce in general. Nearly half (46.9 percent) of public servants worked outside the day, compared with 9 percent of U.S. workers. The percentage of public servants suffering from depression was almost twice as high (12.0 per cent versus 6.8 per cent) and public servants were almost four times more likely to sleep less than six hours in a 24-hour period than the general population (33.0 per cent versus 8.0 per cent). A higher percentage of public servants were obese (40.5% vs. 32.1%), had metabolic syndrome (26.7% vs. 18.7%), and had higher average serum total cholesterol levels (200.8 mg/dL vs. 193.2 mg/dL) than the comparison of employed populations. In addition to the higher traditional CVD risk factors, police officers had higher levels of non-traditional CVD risk factors. These results highlight the need to extend the definition of health inequalities to the profession.
Future studies should extend this comparison to other traditional and non-traditional CVD risk factors and other occupational groups. We know that up to 40% of agents smoke and are exposed to environments where smokers are present. Lack of quality sleep combined with shift work makes fast food an easier option that can lead to all sorts of health problems (including high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity). It is very possible, easy and inexpensive to detect blockages as they begin to form. I`m not talking about treadmill testing. These tests do not detect blockages until it is too late. Advanced tests are available and much needed. Each of you should ask your doctor to take two very simple tests.
The first test is called a coronary calcium score. This is a very quick scan of the breast performed on a low-dose CT scanner. You simply lie on the scanner, which you turn on and off in about 30 seconds. This test looks for small calcium plaques in the arteries of the heart that indicate the formation of blockages. When this test is combined with a simple blood test called phospholipase A2, or PLA-2 for short, we are able to detect the early stages of inflammation when blockages form. When blockages form, inflammation occurs, which leads to a heart attack. A newly sworn officer who has just graduated from the police academy is usually in the best physical condition of his life. This young officer has also undergone and passed a psychological screening examination and it has been found that he is also in good mental health. The tragedy is that over the next twenty to twenty-five years of their careers, these officers will suffer from physical illnesses and emotional trauma with devastating consequences.