Ag safety expert urges farmers to monitor heart health

The Kansas Department of Agriculture reports there are more than 100,000 farmers in the state, and the average age of farmers is just over 58.

Tawnie Larson, a project consultant for the Kansas Agriculture Safety and Health program at Kansas State University, said the KDA’s statistics combined with national figures on heart disease serve as a cautionary tale for those who live in rural areas.

“Male farmers aged 45 and older have an increased risk of heart disease compared to their non-farming peers,” Larson said in a news release. “And women in rural areas also are at an increased risk for heart disease.”

Larson urges rural residents to take a moment to recognize heart health in February, which is recognized nationally by the American Red Cross as American Heart Month. The Red Cross reports that heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States.

Farmers, she said, tend to experience high levels of stress due to such job-related factors as weather, market fluctuations, equipment malfunctions and financial hardship.

Plus, a by-product of living in rural communities is that those areas tend to have decreased access to health care “or (farmers) do not see their doctor on a regular basis,” according to Larson.

As much as 44% of women in the United States are living with heart disease, according to figures from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, for many of the same reasons men suffer from heart disease.