Heart Conditions and Firefighters

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of firefighters. Half of on-duty deaths are caused by heart attacks and stroke. The physical demands of firefighting, coupled with traumatic stress, and sleep issues combine to cause significant health cardiac health risks for firefighters.

The law recognizes that firefighters are at a much increased risk of heart conditions and enacted a statutory presumption for heart conditions in firefighters. When a firefighter suffers from myocarditis, coronary sclerosis, or pneumonia or specific heart conditions, then the condition is presumed to be work-related, the burden of proof shifts from the employee to the employer and insurer to disprove that the condition is work-related. Minn. Stat. §176.011, subd. 15(b).