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| ID | Type | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG/11/27/28842 | Other Grant/Funding Number | British Heart Foundation |
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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.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighters | 20 firefighters will attend for vascular assessments following a minimum of 48 hours off-duty. |
| |
| Police Officers | 20 police officers will attend for vascular assessments following a minimum of 48 hours off-duty. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forearm Vascular Study | Procedure | Forearm venous occlusion plethysmography to measure forearm blood flow during intra-arterial infusion of the vasodilators Verapamil (10-100 µg/min), bradykinin (100-1000 pmol/min), sodium nitroprusside (2-8 µg/min) and Acetylcholine (5-20 µg/min). |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Forearm blood flow measured by venous occlusion plethysmography in response to infused vasodilators | following 48 hours off duty |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Ex-vivo thrombus formation using the Badimon chamber | following 48 hours off duty | |
| Plasma t-PA and PAI concentrations following infusion of bradykinin | During forearm study, following 48 hours off duty |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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Subjects will be healthy, non-smoking, whole-time firefighters working within Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service and age- and sex-matched police officers who are also healthy and non-smokers working within Lothian and Borders Police Force.
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| David E Newby, MD PhD | University of Edinburgh | Study Chair |
| Nicholas L Mills, MBChB PhD | University of Edinburgh | Study Director |
| Amanda L Hunter, MBChB | University of Edinburgh | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility | Edinburgh | EH16 4SA | United Kingdom |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D013927 | Thrombosis |
| D009203 | Myocardial Infarction |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D016769 | Embolism and Thrombosis |
| D014652 | Vascular Diseases |
| D002318 | Cardiovascular Diseases |
| D017202 | Myocardial Ischemia |
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Plasma and urine.
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| Badimon Chamber | Procedure | Ex-vivo assessment of thrombus formation using the Badimon Chamber |
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| D006331 |
| Heart Diseases |
| D007238 | Infarction |
| D007511 | Ischemia |
| D010335 | Pathologic Processes |
| D013568 | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms |
| D009336 | Necrosis |