T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Trinity Health System’s Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Service Line Dr. Triston Smith aims to link heart health to safety in the workplace at the monthly Belmont County Safety Council meeting.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Trinity Health System’s Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Service Line Dr. Triston Smith aims to link heart health to safety in the workplace.

Smith spoke at the monthly Belmont County Safety Council meeting last week.

“This is a very good forum because it is not common that we link heart health with safety in the workplace, but that’s very important, especially for workers who are in charge of large equipment that can cause catastrophic injury to others, not just themselves. It is very important for us to raise awareness of that,” Smith said. “In addition, heart disease is the number one killer and a number one cause of sick days and lost productivity in the U.S. So anything that we can do to raise awareness of heart health so that our workers can be more heart healthy.”

He added that he believes promoting a heart healthy work environment will translate into economic benefits down the line. He proceeded to applaud the Belmont County Safety Council for wanting residents in the community to focus on heart health while in the workplace.

Smith said that in addition to his office in Steubenville, he will also have an office at the new St. Clairsville hospital location of Trinity Health System that is expected to open in July.

The new facility will be a 20,000-square-foot acute care service facility with two stories and 10 emergency rooms, two of which will be trauma rooms along with three fast track rooms on the second floor, six inpatient rooms including one intensive care room, and two operating rooms. Other departments will also be in the hospital, ranging from laboratory services to high-end imaging services.

“I think the Belmont County Safety Council is very forward-thinking, and I applaud them for their efforts here today,” Smith said.

He added that heart disease is the primary cause of mortality in adults of working age, so he believes organizations like the safety council holding events to inform residents is crucial.

Smith said several different factors affect heart health when it comes to the workplace, such as extended work hours and elevated levels of stress. In addition to those contributing factors, he added that workers’ sedentary habits are a key factor in heart disease.

“The health care cost of lost productivity in the U.S. is $1 billion per day if we don’t address these issues of employee well-being. It affects employee well-being and productivity, healthier employees are more productive and engaged, resulting in fewer sick days and lower workplace stress, which boosts the overall performance of the company. Less people are out on sick days, and there’s more productivity,” Smith said..” It’s simple, and we can do simple things like preventive measures. Health screenings, healthier food options and promoting physical activity can all significantly reduce heart disease risk.”

He then mentioned that he goes to a lot of cardiology conferences that will have lunch provided and the lunch will be unhealthy, which he believes contradicts the information provided in the conference.

He then asked the attendees what heart disease is.

“Heart disease refers to various conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels, with coronary artery disease being the most common,” Smith said. “Notable symptoms consist of chest pain that we call angina, shortness of breath, discomfort of pain in the region of the neck, jaw, throat or abdomen and back,” Smith said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, “Coronary Artery Disease is caused by plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart and other parts of the body.”

Smith ended his presentation by informing the attendees who are the heads of their companies that if staff members are working 55 or more hours in a week, the risk of heart disease increases by almost 50%.