"Borderline" EKG

[crjdude]

Just turned 35 a few weeks ago so this is the first time I've taken the EKG.
I was shocked when the AME said mine was "borderline." He issued me a 1st Class medical and said I'd probably never hear anything from Oke City. Yeah sure, no worries huh...

Has anyone else had anything like this happen? Did you hear anything from the FAA? Any input is appreciated.

Thanks.

crjdude

 

[Singlecoil]

Just turned 35 a few weeks ago so this is the first time I've taken the EKG.
I was shocked when the AME said mine was "borderline." He issued me a 1st Class medical and said I'd probably never hear anything from Oke City. Yeah sure, no worries huh...

Has anyone else had anything like this happen? Did you hear anything from the FAA? Any input is appreciated.

Thanks.

crjdude

I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. The one you take at age 35 is used as a baseline to compare the later ones with. Had I known that at the time, I would have smoked a pack of cigarettes and gotten trashed the night before. I'm certainly no expert, but it is my impression that they compare the later ones to the one you just took, so as long as there are no sudden changes you should be allright.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Not sure what "borderline" means, but what's the science behind the EKG. I know what the acronym stands for but what exactly are they detecting in an EKG. Is it your chances of having a heart attack or just the present state of your heart rythms.

Anyone have more background info. and what the FAA finds disqualifiying. My GP has given a few to me and never rasied any issues. Wondering if the FAA has a specific standard as to how they are interpreted.

 

[30West]

My AME gave me ******************** because of my heartrate during the test. Finally got mine to 95 so he could take the test. He said it has to be below 100 or OKC won't accept it. My normal resting HR is low 60's, but doctor's offices always make me nervous. Particularly stressful since my eye test is getting more and more challenging as the years go by.
I'm surprised he didn't get more specific about what was marginal.

 

[Swaayze]

My AME said the same thing on my first EKG. Then said that's ok this machine does that. WTFO? Never heard a thing and will not be going to him for another EKG!

 

[BoilerUP]

My AME gave me ******************** because of my heartrate during the test. Finally got mine to 95 so he could take the test. He said it has to be below 100 or OKC won't accept it. My normal resting HR is low 60's, but doctor's offices always make me nervous.

When I was getting mine done for the USAF, my heart rate was in the upper 80s (I also get nervous in medical situations). As soon as he turned the speaker on to listen to the heart, my heart rate went to just under 100. He turned the speaker off and it dropped back to around 85. Five minutes after the test was over, my resting rate was somewhere around 67.

I hate those farkin' things...

 

[rickair7777]

EKG analysis is very complicated. Pulse rate is not really a factor, they check your pulse on every medical, not just the EKG ones.

The EKG is looking for potentially abnormal signals in the nerve mechanism that controls the heart...these could be caused by 1001 different things, many of which are benign and common. If you have a real serious problem on the EKG, they will catch it and ground you.

The thing that creates EKG issues for healthy people is certain types of heart rythm inconsistencies...these often feel like your heart skips a beat (I have had this problem). This is harmless in most cases and can occur once a day or once a minute. However if they occur many times each minute there can be a medical issue.

The problem is the EKG takes a very short snapshot, only a few seconds...if you happen to have one of those unusual rythms during the snapshot, they don't know if that is happening once a day, once an hour, or once every six seconds....

They will usually give you your medical, but after the FAA reviews it, they may require a follow up exam where you have to wear a heart rate monitor for 24 hours to record all irregularities during that period. This is an expensive nuisance. You can sometimes minimize the rythm irregularities for the EKG by doing these things...

1) Don't drink the day before
2) Don't exercise hard the day before
3) No caffiene the morning of
4) Low Potassium can cause these...eat bananas (this solves the problem for me)

Also if you are a serious endurance athlete, your heart may idle rough (kind of like a hot-rod) when resting. I learned in the military to do a few pushups before the EKG to get the heart rate up to a smoother rythm.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Good info. rickair.