Lieutenant Travis County Sheriff's Office Austin, Texas, United States
It has been well-known that heart disease is one of the top killers of law enforcement officers. The organizations that track line of duty deaths recognize heart disease as one of the top culprits for officer mortality. These deaths are only the tip of the iceberg. The collected data does not capture deaths that occur after duty hours and does not recognize the fact that only approximately 3 percent of heart attacks are fatal. However, this epidemic of heart disease does not need to continue. Inexpensive technology and better understanding of heart disease allows for early identification. This presentation will discuss prevention strategies, as well as the variances in state legislation, that provide for presumptive inclusion of heart disease as a line of duty death determination.
