[Return to work of the cardiac patient: work fitness evaluation in Occupational Medicine Division including an Occupational Cardiology Unit and Work-Physiology Lab in Bergamo].

Cardiovascular disease in working age still represent a major cause of morbidity and account for a number of fitness to work certificates expressing several limitations and prescriptions. To present the medical assessment conducted in an Occupational Medicine Division including an Occupational Cardiology Unit and work-physiology lab. It is described the history and the structure of the Occupational Cardiology Unit.

[Syncope and occupational risk survey: the role of continuing education and multidisciplinary approach].

Syncope is a common disorder characterized most of the times by a positive clinical outcome. However, it may turn to a life threatening event even for working colleagues and third party when occurring during an high risk job. We have recently found that, out of 670 patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) for syncope, about 50% were potential workers, being their age between 18 and 65 years.

[Syncope and work: role of the occupational physician and global risk stratification].

Safety risk for subjects suffering from syncope while working has not been as yet addressed by occupational medicine. The present study was aimed at evaluating a new developed methodology for job tasks risk stratification in patients with syncope. During a work-shop on syncope and occupational risk, 149 occupational physicians (OP) with about 10 years of clinical experience were asked to fulfil a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) concerning the doctor's estimated potential damage (D) to the worker and the probability of a damage to occur (P) should syncope take place during the job task.

[Syncope and work. STePS study (Short Term Prognosis of Syncope)].

Background: Recurrent syncope is a common medical problem responsible for 3-5% of emergency department (ED) accesses and 1-6% of hospital admissions. If syncope occurs in a subject working in a critical safety task, the consequences of this event might be very dangerous for the worker, colleagues, others or for the environment. Therefore, syncope management is a major problem for occupational medicine, converning the general safety at work.

[Cardiovascular assessment in building activities using an ergospirometer].

We report preliminary results of a current study aimed to evaluated peak oxygen consumption and others cardiopulmonary exercise test parameters, in some common and tiring building activities, with the use of a portable ergospirometer stress test (Metamax 3B, Cortex Biophysik). We tested 3 Building School's Teachers of Seriate (Bergamo): the materials handling and transport of cement bricks and to dig with pick and shovel reaches peak anaerobic threshold into few minutes while the activity of make molter permits an aerobic metabolism in all building workers tested.