Comparison of Vascular Function in Emergency Service Professionals (FIRECOP)

University of Edinburgh

Status: Completed

Conditions: Atherothrombosis; Vascular Function

Treatments: Procedure: Forearm Vascular Study; Procedure: Badimon Chamber

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01813032

11-SS-0085

PG/11/27/28842 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Emergency Service Professionals have an increased risk of death from heart attacks when compared to the general public. All the emergency professions share similar responsibilities such as emergency call-outs and shift work. Heart disease is the commonest cause of on-duty death amongst fire-fighters accounting for 45% and compared with 22% in police officers and 15% in the general population. The unique risk to fire-fighters is likely to reflect a combination of factors including extreme physical exertion, mental stress, heat and pollutant exposure.

In this study the investigators will assess healthy career fire-fighters and age-matched healthy police officer control subjects following a sedentary period. The investigators will take blood samples to measure platelet activity (platelets are the particles in blood that help blood clot) and will examine how blood clots outside of the body. The investigators will then perform studies placing small needles in the arm to assess how the blood vessels respond following these duties. The investigators hypothesise that fire-fighters do not have pre-existing impairment of heart, blood or blood vessel function as a cumulative effect of their occupation, but rather these are acute and transitory effects following distinct fire-fighter duties. We therefore expect similar results in both occupational groups.

Enrollment: 36 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18 to 60 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Non-smoking healthy firefighters

Exclusion criteria

• Current smoker
• History of lung or ischaemic heart disease
• Malignant arrhythmia
• Systolic blood pressure >190mmHg or <100mmHg
• Renal or hepatic dysfunction
• Previous history of blood dyscrasia
• Unable to tolerate the supine position
• Blood donation within the last 3 months
• Recent respiratory tract infection within the past 4 weeks
• Routine medication including aspirin and NSAIDs

Trial design

36 participants in 2 patient groups

Firefighters

Description:

20 firefighters will attend for vascular assessments following a minimum of 48 hours off-duty.

Treatment:

Procedure: Badimon Chamber

Procedure: Forearm Vascular Study

Police Officers

Description:

20 police officers will attend for vascular assessments following a minimum of 48 hours off-duty.

Treatment:

Procedure: Badimon Chamber

Procedure: Forearm Vascular Study