Chief Thomas Mulcahy reports that the Concord Police Department is participating in the Sigma Tactical Wellness program, aimed at reducing injuries from a leading threat to police officers — heart disease.
Sigma Tactical Wellness’s program is designed to detect potentially deadly heart conditions in officers before routine medical screenings would catch them.
Studies have shown that police officers have a life expectancy of approximately 22 years less than average community members, and heart disease is among the leading causes of line-of-duty deaths.
Police officers must pass physical fitness tests during the police academy and their careers. However, they also face a number of challenges that can take a major toll on heart health: Repeatedly responding to high-stress situations, irregular work schedules, and lack of consistent sleep or schedules.
Sigma Tactical Wellness offers a program for public safety personnel that tests for early markers of coronary issues that traditional medical insurance would not cover, and which typical municipal testing regimes do not include.
Tests include active electrocardiogram with physician interpretation and evaluation, cardio metabolic stress tests, advanced lipid panels including cardiac inflammatory biomarker analysis, and carotid intima-media thickness ultrasound. Additionally, the program provides consultations with clinicians and exercise physiologists, as well as an in-depth nutritional analysis based on individual results of cardio metabolic testing.
“Through this aggressive and cutting-edge technology, the rates of heart attack, obesity and other metabolic illness can be drastically reduced, if not eliminated,” according to Sigma Tactical Wellness. “Not only does Sigma’s program help to decrease the prevalence of heart disease among law enforcement officers and increase the life expectancy of LEOs, but it can work to bring down departmental healthcare costs.”
“It’s important that we value the people who serve our community, because they are our most valuable resource,” Chief Mulcahy said. “This program will help us ensure we are doing as much as we possibly can to protect the health of our police officers.”
To learn more about Sigma Tactical Wellness, visit: iamsigma.com.