By: Mary Jane Dittmar, Senior Associate Editor, Fire Engineering/FireEngineering.com
HAZARDS
Chemical Watch
- Cadmium. Another haz mat for your “hazards watch list” and to “search out” in your response district. In studies by Mary Beth Martin of Georgetown University, this heavy metal was found “to mimic” estrogen in rodents. Previously, it had been noted that exposure to cadmium could lead to kidney damage and bone disease and effect changes in the prostates of rats. Researchers say that although it is not yet known whether cadmium affects humans in the same way as rats, research findings could mean it is a health hazard. Cadmium chloride is a potent estrogen mimic in female rats, researchers say. Even low doses, they note, might adversely affect estrogen-dependent processes in rodents (female and male reproduction tracts, the mammary glands, and the cardiovascular and skeletal systems. Smokers, they point out consistently ingest large amounts of cadmium; cigarette smoke is a major contributor to the dietary intake of cadmium and the bioaccumulation of cadmium in human tissue. Cadmium is widely used in batteries and alloys, pigments, soldering processes, and a byproduct of burning fossil fuels as well as cigarette smoke. It may also be a contaminant in foods such as shellfish, liver, and kidney. (Nature Medicine, Aug. 2003; MSNBC’s Health Library online, July 14, 2003.)
- Contemporary “bomb” “Drano(r) bombs” have employed in three incidents in New York City. In one attack, youngsters shook plastic bottles filled with water and Drano(r) and tossed the bottles into a schoolyard in Queens. The bottles exploded. There were minor injuries, including a three- and a six-year old. Previously, the same youngsters had released the bottles on a bus and in a dry cleaning store in the Bronx. One of them was apprehended in a similar attack in a hallway in a Bronx structure. (New YorkEMSNetwork, July 17, 2003.)
HEART HEALTH “SIZE-UP” AND “PREPLAN”
Risk Factors
“Predictors” of heart attacks. Recent research has demonstrated that heart attacks most often strike people who smoke, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes (four top risk factors). Data from 400,000 subject interviews from three previous multiyear studies were analyzed. About nine out of 10 patients who participated in the survey reportedly had one of these risk factors for years before having an attack. The study’s author, Dr. Philip Greenland of Northwestern University, Chicago, said these findings challenged claims that half of those with heart-related health problems do not have any of these risk factors. In view of these findings, Greenland said more attention should be given to unfavorable levels of blood cholesterol and blood pressure, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and unfavorable body weight (which often leads to elevated blood lipid and blood pressure levels and diabetes).
A second study, in which surveys from outside the United States were analyzed, 85 percent of about 120,000 patients who had angina or underwent angioplasty or similar treatment reportedly had at least one of the four risk factors. The study noted that a patient who smoked experienced the heart event almost 10 years earlier than patients who had one of the other risk factors. A healthful lifestyle devoid of these risk factors can prevent many of these cardiovascular problems, observed the study’s author, Umesh Khot of Indiana Heart Physicians in Indianapolis. MSN.com, Aug. 19, 2003.)
Diet
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Benefits of fish consumption. Eating fish can slow down your heat beats, according to a study by Dr. Jean Dallongeville, Institut Pasteur de Lille in France and colleagues. Almost 10,000 older men without evidence of heart disease were placed in four groups based on their weekly fish intake and heart rate, and their risk factors for heart disease were compared. As their levels of weekly fish intake increased, their heart rates fell. Fish consumption remained a predictor of slower heart rates, even after accounting for other factors that can influence heart rate, such as age, smoking status, and physical activity, the researchers concluded.
As was the case in other studies, fish intake was also associated with a rise in cell levels of omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are known to have many benefits for the heart. Fish consumption also resulted in a drop in blood pressure and triglycerides levels and an increase in “good” cholesterol levels (HDL). (HeartCenterOnLine, Aug. 15, 2003; Circulation, Journal of the American Heart Association, Aug. 12, 2003)
Exercise
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Modest exercise and lower blood pressure. Previously sedentary patients who increased their physical activity modestly were able to achieve “meaningful decreases” in blood pressure, according to research by Dr. Kazuko Ishikawa-Takata, of the National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan. Two hundred seven patients who had not been treated for their high blood pressure were assigned to five groups: no regular exercise, 30 to 60 minutes/week; 61 to 90 minutes/week; 91 to 120 minutes/week, and more than 120 minutes/week. At the start of the trial, all participants were similar in age, gender, weight, calorie intake, and blood pressure level.
All patients, except those in the sedentary group, were reported to have significant reductions in systolic (the top number in a pressure reading) and diastolic blood pressure. Patients in the 60 to 90 minutes/week group had a greater drop than those in the 30 to 90 minutes/week group. (The average exercise duration in the 61 to 90 minutes/week group was 75 minutes/week.) Increasing the duration of exercise did not produce greater reductions in systolic blood pressure. Systolic pressure was down about 12 mm Hg; diastolic dropped about 8 mm Hg. (American Journal of Hypertension, Aug. 2003, www.heartcenteronline.com) - Exercise can help reduce incidence of stroke. Researcher Chon Do Lee, Ed.D., department of sports and exercise sciences at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, examined data from 23 international epidemiologic studies published between 1966 and 2002 to determine if there is an overall association between physical activity and the incidence of stroke and stroke death, as has been found between physical activity and the risk of hypertension and heart disease. The analysis revealed that, overall, moderately active people had a 20 percent lower risk and highly active individuals a 27 percent lower risk of a stroke or stroke death than low-active people. (Definitions of low, moderate, and high activity varied widely among the studies analyzed.) Lee concluded that sedentary patients should be encouraged to engage in regular and moderate to high-intensity physical activity. (American Heart Association, HeartCenterOnline, Sept. 19, 2003.)
SAFETY
Vehicular safety. Sometimes, keeping safe is as simple as “clicking it,” to borrow a term from a New Jersey seat belt safety campaign slogan “Click it or Ticket.” In July, a volunteer firefighter was injured as a result of falling out of the fire cab of a fire truck while en route to a vehicle fire. Fortunately, he was not seriously hurt. Allegedly, as the driver was making a turn, the door of the cab opened and the firefighter tumbled out.
Do you have a health or safety tip or story to share? Send it to maryjd@pennwell.com.
Mary Jane Dittmar is senior associate editor of Fire Engineering magazine and FireEngineering.com. Before joining the magazine in 1991, she served as editor of a trade magazine in the health/nutrition market and held various positions in the educational and medical advertising fields. She has a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and a master’s degree in communication arts.
