.png)
Heart Attack
Question:
An employee feels pain in his chest while at his workstation. He suddenly faints and falls to the floor. Members from the first aid team respond by starting a defibrillator on the unconscious employee and call 911 for an ambulance. The employee is revived on site and is then taken to the hospital and held overnight. It is determined the employee suffered a heart attack. The employee has suffered from heart disease for several years and has a family history of it. The employee’s doctor determined the employee suffered a heart attack due to blocked blood flow in the heart. Further, the doctor reviewed the employee’s job tasks and determined that his job did not aggravate his condition to cause the heart failure. Is it recordable?
Answer:
NO. The employee had a pre-existing heart condition and his doctor determined the heart attack did not result from the employee’s job tasks.
1904.5(b)(4)
How do I know if an event or exposure in the work environment "significantly aggravated" a preexisting injury or illness? A preexisting injury or illness has been significantly aggravated, for purposes of OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping, when an event or exposure in the work environment results in any of the following:
1904.5(b)(4)(ii)
Loss of consciousness, provided that the preexisting injury or illness would likely not have resulted in loss of consciousness but for the occupational event or exposure.