Semitrucks require fuel, regular maintenance and occasional repairs to keep freight moving safely and efficiently from coast to coast — but there is an even more important step we can take to ensure goods are delivered on time.
February is American Heart Month, an opportunity to focus on the most important engine on the road: your heart! A little preventative care now can help keep your heart going for the long-haul.
Truckers have a high risk of developing heart disease.
Long sedentary hours, irregular sleep and limited food options can make it difficult to prioritize health while on the road. The chronic stress of trying to meet delivery times, find parking and navigate unplanned delays certainly doesn’t help.
As an over-the-road (OTR) truck driver, the demands of your job can quietly increase risks for several chronic health conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea — all of which increase your risk of heart disease.
While it may feel like the odds are stacked against you, there is good news.
Most heart disease risk factors are preventable or can be managed with the right tools and support. Even more encouraging, we can make a big impact with small, consistent changes. Sustainable change to reduce health risks is a common theme across all of the health and wellness programs offered by St. Christopher Fund (SCF).
SCF delivers free resources to help truckers protect their health.
Driven to be Healthy is a collection of health and wellness programs that are available at no cost to Class A OTR drivers, thanks to generous sponsors who believe in SCF’s mission of making better health accessible to drivers nationwide.
As part of these programs, SCF strives to help OTR drivers reduce the risk of many of the common health conditions that cause drivers to come off the road each year including heart attacks, strokes, cardiovascular disease, diabetes complications and cancer.
Most importantly, all programs offered by SCF are tailored specifically to OTR drivers and the challenges they face. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the programs available and how they help to support heart health.
Healthy Habits for the Long Haul
Healthy Habits for the Long Haul is a 12-week virtual program focused on preventing and managing chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Drivers meet in a small group setting to cover topics such as nutrition label reading, grocery shopping, meal preparation on the road, the science of sleep and more. As part of the program, drivers also receive a set of tools to help track their health data and make fitness more convenient. These tools include a glucose meter, a digital body scale, a blood pressure cuff, a fitness tracker and resistance bands.
Many of the most common chronic health conditions affecting OTR drivers increase the risk for heart disease.
High blood pressure places unnecessary strain on the heart and blood vessels, which causes damage over time. Tiny tears on the inside of arteries from the extra pressure cause rough surfaces where cholesterol and plaque are more likely to collect and potentially cause blockages. High cholesterol and type 2 diabetes create inflammation in the body, which can accelerate plaque formation.
Diabetes Prevention Program
Similarly, the Diabetes Prevention Program is also offered as a 12-week virtual course but is focused on preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes.
SCF is also currently recruiting for a more long-term course for diabetes prevention, HabitNu. HabitNu utilizes the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program, combined with a virtual class setting and the HabitNu app to help make tracking and participation even easier. Time dedicated to preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes is also time dedicated to heart health!
Rigs Without Cigs
Tobacco and nicotine use is another significant contributing factor to heart disease. Similar to other chronic health conditions, tobacco use can cause inflammation and damage the inner lining of arteries, once again increasing the risk for build-up and blockages. Nicotine adds to this risk by elevating blood pressure and constricting the blood vessels, causing the heart to work harder with each exposure.
SCF offers a comprehensive tobacco and nicotine cessation program, Rigs without Cigs, which provides free treatment options, incentive prizes and tobacco-cessation counseling for Class A CDL semitruck drivers.
Vaccine Voucher Program
Finally, SCF is making vaccines more accessible to OTR drivers through its Vaccine Voucher Program. Drivers can receive vouchers for COVID-19, pneumonia, shingles and flu vaccines; these vouchers can be used at Sam’s Club, Walmart, Walgreens, The Little Clinic and Kroger Family of Pharmacies.
Viral infections are well known for their classic symptoms — fever, headache, sore throat, painful blisters and more. Internally, however, these infections trigger complex inflammatory reactions:
- Existing plaque buildup is more at risk for breaking loose, increasing the risk for blood clots.
- Heart rate and blood pressure tend to rise, which creates stress on the cardiovascular system.
- If you have an existing chronic condition such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, symptoms of these conditions may worsen temporarily.
All of these factors add up to create a heightened risk for heart attack in the weeks following flu, shingles, pneumonia and COVID-19 infections.
Start small and build your way to health.
As with all health and wellness goals, starting with small, bite-sized pieces is best for sustainable changes. Small habits — like adding lunges during a pre-trip inspection, incorporating an extra vegetable serving with lunch or dinner, and swapping out one high-sugar food for a high fiber option — can help provide momentum to a healthier heart long-term.
American Heart Month is the perfect time to check your numbers, set one realistic goal and enroll in a program designed specifically for OTR drivers.
To get started, visit truckersfund.org/healthwellness. You can also contact Lindsey Bryan, SCF’s health and wellness manager, at [email protected] for more information about health topics or to see how you can prioritize your heart health today.
As the health and wellness manager for the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund, Lindsey Bryan has a passion for helping drivers manage their health. While she has always had a heart for helping others, she found her passion in health coaching while on her own health journey after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and learning the impact that nutrition and exercise can make in the management of chronic health conditions.
Lindsey graduated from Brenau University with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. She’s spent the past decade working in various health and wellness fields including addiction counseling, social work, inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation and nutrition counseling.
Outside of work, Lindsey is an avid gardener and loves to hike the mountains of East Tennessee. When the weather doesn’t allow for outdoor adventures, you can find her crafting, baking and spending time with her husband, son and their dogs.
