Cardiovascular load assessment of coal mine shovelers in west Bengal, India: a comparison between middle age groups.

Cardiovascular load of underground shovelers was assessed in terms of heart rate changes at work in haulage coalmines. Twenty underground shovelers of two different age groups (those of age 31-39 and those of age 40-49) served as subjects. Working heart rate was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the older group (138.2 beats/min) than in the younger group (130.4 beats/min). Though the net cardiac cost did not differ significantly between the groups (64.8 beats/min and 69.4 beats/min in younger and older groups, respectively), difference in the relative cardiac cost (54.17% and 64.86% in younger and older groups, respectively) proved to be highly significant (p < 0.001). The heart rate up to the third minute of recovery showed significant differences between the groups (p < 0.01). While analysis of physiological responses indicated that the task was very strenuous irrespective of age, cardiac strain was found to be more excessive in the older subjects if continued. The arduous nature of the working environment in the coalfaces was also reported.