Research: Firefighters' Blood Pressure Surges on Calls

Recent research funded by the American Heart Association reinforces the need for fire service personnel to be aware of and maintain a healthy blood pressure.

The study conducted with firefighters from New Hampshire and the greater Philadelphia area found that heart rates and blood pressures surged following pager and station alerting tones.

These results confirm the importance of maintaining healthy blood pressure during daily life, and that the stresses of the job can exacerbate the risks of cardiac and stroke events for firefighters. Sudden cardiac arrest is among the leading causes of line of duty deaths in firefighters.

The study results found an increase of systolic pressure around 19 mm Hg for fire and medical calls. Diastolic pressures increased near 16 mm Hg for medicals and 10 mm Hg for fire events.

Researchers also found that compared to the average blood pressure during a shift, there was a 9% increase in systolic during fire calls and 9% increase of diastolic during medical calls. Also noted was a heart rate increase of 15 bpm for medical incidents and 10 bpm for fire calls.

“All emergency and first responders should be aware of their health, said Dr. Deborah Feairheller, senior author of the study. "They should know what their typical blood pressure level is and be aware of how it fluctuates. Most important, if they have high blood pressure, they should make sure it is well-controlled."

You can read the full study report here.