Heart Disease and Workmen's Compensation

E; VERY CARDIAC INJURY CLAIM gets an award, and every award is a sizable one." This generalization concerning the awards under the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of California stands as an increasingly obstinate barrier to the rehabilitation of cardiac cases in this State. The recognition of this fact was translated into a tangible form of action in 1955 when a team of research workers sponsored by the Cardiac in Industry Committee of the California Heart Association undertook a study of "Heart Disease Claims under the California Workmen 's Compensation Act"1 in order to substitute some facts for opinions in the crucial area of whether or not a cardiac accident is work connected. The authors concluded that heart disease claims filed in the study period (1948-1951) were not very great in comparison to the size of the State's population and to the number of deaths caused by heart disease; heart claims constituted 1.7 per cent of all claims decided by the Industrial Accident Commission during this period. They noticed discrepancies in judgment among physicians and concluded that education of physicians for the part they play in these case proceedings is needed. Their final statement said, "It may also be pointed out that the allegation that 'every heart claim gets an award' has not been substantiated by this study."1 In 1959 the present authors organized a follow-up study, sponsored by the Committee on Rehabilitation of the California Heart Association. This study was designed to at-