According to USFA, as of May 31, 2110 there were 31 LODDs. Of those, 17 were heart attack.
More than 54%.
More than half.
I guess that begs the question; Why?
I’ll spare you the firehouse routine. Here are the factors that USFA uses-Tobacco use, Weight, Inactivity, Diabetes, Family history, and High Blood pressure. And The age of 45 is the magic number for when heart attacks start to dominate firefighter deaths.
Think about what we expect from our bodies…wake up and run in the middle of the night. Over exertion almost every time we catch a job. And so forth. What are you doing for your heart health? What are you doing for your health
I’ll glaze over a couple things you can do.
The classic house tower run. Put on your gear, grab a roll of hose and do a few evolutions up and down. Don’t try to kill yourself until you have gotten used to doing the work. After you are spent do 1-2 more trips without all the extra weight.
Running, Jogging, biking, swimming, self explanatory. My personal favorite are the guys with big muscles but no capacity to do work.
The next is Crossfit. If you don’t have an affiliate in your area go to www.crossfit.com. They have all the workouts listed and video demonstrations of them. I am a huge fan of this. The biggest problem is the price. But it is well worth it and you will see results.
Finally; GO TO THE DOCTOR!
Get a physical. Get all the pokes and prods that your insurance will cover (if you have it). You are pretty likely to get cancer, the earlier you detect it the better your odds of living.
Do something. Get off your butt and just do some activity. Something is better than nothing. Be Safe
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