Comparison of Vascular Function in Emergency Service Professionals (FIRECOP)

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Vascular Function; Atherothrombosis
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Forearm Vascular Study; Procedure: Badimon Chamber

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 36

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Edinburgh, United Kingdom, EH16 4SA
    • Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

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.

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Firefighters; 20 firefighters will attend for vascular assessments following a minimum of 48 hours off-duty.	Procedure: Forearm Vascular Study; 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).; Other Names: BK; SNP; ACh; VP; Procedure: Badimon Chamber; Ex-vivo assessment of thrombus formation using the Badimon Chamber
Police Officers; 20 police officers will attend for vascular assessments following a minimum of 48 hours off-duty.	Procedure: Forearm Vascular Study; 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).; Other Names: BK; SNP; ACh; VP; Procedure: Badimon Chamber; Ex-vivo assessment of thrombus formation using the Badimon Chamber

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Forearm blood flow measured by venous occlusion plethysmography in response to infused vasodilators	following 48 hours off duty

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	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

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Edinburgh
• Investigators: Study Chair: David E Newby, MD PhD, University of Edinburgh; Study Director: Nicholas L Mills, MBChB PhD, University of Edinburgh; Principal Investigator: Amanda L Hunter, MBChB, University of Edinburgh

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 14, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 14, 2013
• First Posted (Estimated): March 18, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 3, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 2, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: myocardial infarction; endothelial function; thrombosis; firefighters; police officers; emergency service professionals
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Disease Attributes; Embolism and Thrombosis; Emergencies; Thrombosis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 11-SS-0085; PG/11/27/28842 (Other Grant/Funding Number: British Heart Foundation)