Welcome to the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter E-News. The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program was designed to help firefighters become more heart-healthy and lower the incidence of heart attack related deaths in the fire service. We hope that you enjoy this newsletter and that it benefits not only you, but others in your fire department, family and community.

1. Second Edition of Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook Coming Soon
2. Submit Your Story to The Pulse
3. Heart-Healthy Program Launches New Booth at Fire-Rescue International
4. USFA Releases 2006 Firefighter Fatality Report
5. NFPA Research Foundation Needs Your Input for Study on Firefighter Respiratory Exposure
6. USA Today Highlights Firefighter Health
7. Erron Kinney Records Public Service Announcement for the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program
8. Tips to Reduce Your Cholesterol
9. Calendar of Events

Second Edition of Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook Coming Soon

Thank you for making the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook a great success. Due to the high demand, the first edition of the Cookbook has run out and is no longer available for request. The NVFC will print a second edition in the near future. Stay tuned to the Heart-Healthy Firefighter web site for details.

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Submit Your Story to The Pulse

Were you a slave to bad health habits? Did you take the necessary steps to get healthy? If so, please tell us your Success Story and you could be featured in an upcoming issue of The Pulse newsletter.
 
All feedback is welcome. Have a question about fitness or another heart-health topic? Send them to us and your question could be answered in The Pulse. Submit your questions or comments to lricardo@nvfc.org.

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The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) debuted its new and improved exhibit booth at Fire-Rescue International (FRI) on August 24-25 in Atlanta, GA. The new booth retained important components of the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, such as health screenings and cooking demonstrations, but also included other NVFC programs as well as Fire Corps, which the NVFC administers in partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

“The new booth was a great success, and we screened 600 firefighters for the important heart disease risk factors of blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose,” said NVFC Deputy Director Sarah Lee. “Combining the Heart-Healthy Firefighter booth with other NVFC programs and Fire Corps means now the booth has even more elements and resources to offer visitors.”
 
Chef Kevin Harris demonstrated healthy recipes infused with ingredients like peaches and peanuts, both grown in the state of Georgia. The mouth-watering recipes included Georgia Pork and Peanut Chili and Sweet Georgia Peach Smoothie. The recipes are available on the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program web site at www.healthy-firefighter.org. Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program spokesperson, Erron Kinney, was also on hand to sign free copies of the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook and to meet fellow firefighters and emergency personnel.

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Heart Attack Remains Leading Cause of Firefighter Deaths

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has released the 2006 Annual Report on Firefighter Fatalities. The report examines the circumstances surrounding all on-duty firefighter deaths in order to help identify ways to reduce the number of future firefighter deaths.

Heart-attack remained the leading cause of on-duty fatalities in 2006. Fifty of the 106 on-duty deaths, or 47%, were attributed to heart attack. This is the same percentage of firefighters who died of heart attack in 2005, when 55 of the 116 on-duty deaths that year were attributed to heart-attack.

“The total number of on-duty firefighter deaths has been declining since 2004, but heart attack remains the number one cause of these deaths. We will continue our important work to educate firefighters on their heart-health risks and teach them the steps they can take to prevent cardiac events,” said Maggie Wilson, Director of Health and Safety.
For further resources and information on heart-health, visit www.healthy-firefighter.org.
 
Visit the USFA web site to download the 2006 Report.

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The NFPA Research Foundation is working on a study on firefighter respiratory exposure in order to address the use of respiratory protection during overhaul and similar activities. The purpose of the study is to help clarify best field practice guidance for when to use, and remove after using, SCBA and other respiratory equipment.

The Foundation requests your help to obtain some basic information about your fire department, such as when your firefighters remove their SCBA at a fire scene and if you have any guidelines or procedures to protect against adverse respiratory exposure. The Information Collection Form only takes a minute to complete, and your answers will be used in combination with responses from other participants. The results will help first responders avoid exposure to adverse atmospheres. A final summary report is scheduled for completion in December. 

The Information Collection Form is available at www.nfpa.org/RespExpStudy. Your feedback is sincerely appreciated and will help improve safety for firefighters and other emergency responders.

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USA Today published an article about the number one cause of death among firefighters and highlighted ways some departments across the nation are taking action. The article included what National Volunteer Fire Council is doing in this national effort to reduce the risk of heart-attacks. Read the article online at www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-28-firefighterfitness_N.htm?csp=34

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Erron Kinney, volunteer firefighter and former NFL player for the Tennessee Titans, recorded a public service announcement (PSA) for the Heart-Healthy Program to promote heart attack prevention and awareness to firefighters across the nation. This PSA will be played on radio stations nationwide, can be heard online at www.healthy-firefighter.org/files/kinney-psa-hh.cda.  

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Tips to Reduce Your Cholesterol:

September is National Cholesterol Education Month. Below are simple steps to help reduce your risk of high cholesterol and heart disease.

• Get a fasting lipoprotein profile to find out what your total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride numbers are.

• Calculate your risk for heart disease using the ATP III assessment tool.

• Discuss your risk for heart disease with your physician or other health care provider and take steps to reduce the risk factors that put you at risk.

• Learn how to read a food label and choose foods that are low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.

• Read High Blood Cholesterol—What You Need to Know to learn what high cholesterol means to you.

• If you have high blood cholesterol, use the Guide to Lowering Cholesterol with Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes.

• Calculate your body mass index (BMI) with the BMI calculator and see how your weight measures up.

• Participate in physical activity of moderate intensity—like brisk walking—for at least 30 minutes on most, and preferably all, days of the week. Tight on time? Break the 30 minutes into three 10-minute segments throughout the day. Visit the Virtual Fitness Room.

• Don't smoke. If you do smoke, contact your healthcare provider to discuss ways in which they can help you quit.

For more information visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. To test your cholesterol knowledge visit Sounding the Alarm for High Cholesterol.

Courtesy of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

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Visit the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program booth at these upcoming events:

Alaska State Firefighters Association Conference
September 26-28, 2007
Valdez Civic Center
Valdez, AK

Fire Department Instructors Conference
Indianapolis, IN
April 7-12, 2008

Fire Expo
Harrisburg, PA
May 2008

Firehouse Expo
Baltimore, MD
July 22-27, 2008

Fire-Rescue International
Denver, CO
August 14-16. 2008

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