New Stamford Health Program Screens First Responders for Signs of Heart Disease

They save lives and now there are efforts out of Stamford Health to save the lives of Connecticut’s first responders.

Stamford Health has launched a new program to screen for signs of heart disease in police officers, and it will soon be expanding to firefighters and EMTs, as well.

Law enforcement officers regularly find themselves in high stress and even dangerous situations. They also face a silent danger: a higher risk of heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest.

“It’s never the same thing to deal with,” Stamford Police Sgt. Sean Scanlan said.

With 27 years on the police force, Scanlan knows the demands of the job well.

“You could be sitting in a patrol car and then a minute later, you're going lights and sirens to, let's say you have a very serious call,” he said.

So when Stamford Health teamed up with the police department for cardiac testing, he took the opportunity to get screened.

“At my age, I'm 54, I thought it'd be a good idea to get it done,” Scanlan said.

He is glad he did after he got the results.

“I found out I had a lot of built-up plaque on my arteries,” Scanlan said. “The game plan going forward, Dr. Schuster was able to up my cholesterol medicine, changed the diet a little bit, change the exercise regime and then monitor it and go from there.”

Dr. Ed Schuster is the cardiologist behind the program.

“Heart disease is the number one killer of Americans,” he said. “Our first responders, police, fire, EMS and others get more heart disease because of the stress of their job.”

He says the process is simple: first responders go to the Tully Health Center where they get a CT scan.

“It's the easiest test in the world,” Schuster said. “It takes three minutes, the camera goes zip.”

Then they look for cholesterol in the arteries.

“Here, as you can see, is one of the arteries full of white stuff. This is cholesterol,” he said. “Then those are the people we talk to about diet, exercise, no smoking and medication.”

The program launched in November at the suggestion of Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw.

“Of the 60 policemen we've done so far, 40 had nothing, they were clean, but 20 had cholesterol that they did not know about,” Schuster said. “So this is an early way to find people and then prevent them from getting a heart attack or a stroke.”

Now, new grant funding means that the program is expanding to firefighters, volunteer firefighters and EMS workers.  

“The first responders have helped us through the 9/11. They're helping us during COVID. We know what they do for us. They take care of us. It's time for us to take care of them. This is payback,” Schuster said.

The heart health dangers that first responders face came to light last month when North Haven firefighter Mattias Wirtz died from cardiac issues while battling a house fire.

“It's horribly sad. These are guys that are putting their lives on the line to go out and serve the community,” Scanlan said. “It's an absolute shame.”

Thanks to his screening, Scanlan is grasping the opportunity to put his health at the forefront.

“It's a peace of mind to know that, you know, I have this in place, and we're going to monitor it and go from this point on,” he said. “I have a 25- and 23-year-old, I'd love to see them, you know obviously. My older one’s engaged to get married, and see what comes next in their lives. And go forward for hopefully a long, healthy retirement.”

American Heart Month is coming up in February. Schuster said it is a great reminder to get screened, and he recommends that anyone over age 50 get checked for signs of heart disease.