Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

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DanWEC
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Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by DanWEC »

Just wondering if anyone of you has had any surprise hiccups on their ECG's.. and what you've gone through to obtain your Cat 1.
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raven54
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by raven54 »

My first medical the nurse said, "according to machine you are dead." I just have a very slow heartbeat, docs say no worries. Best of luck.
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canwhitewolf
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by canwhitewolf »

Q10 (coenzyme 10)...Good for the heart
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The Old Fogducker
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by The Old Fogducker »

Dan:

Well, it could be something, or it could be nothing.

The nothing could be as simple as a loose lead from a sensor to the ECG machine, or one placed on you in the wrong position or order, or some very minor abnormality which is seen in a significant percentage of the population and is not in any way serious. You may be sent back for another ECG or an interpretation of the current one by a physician with more experience in the examination of ECG tracings.

Next up on the scale of remedial actions would be to have more sophisticated tests done by medical personnel who specialize in diagnosing cardiac information. These tests are performed to rule out any serious maladies which may result in "an incapacitating event."

Now to speak briefly about "the could be something" part .... although it may seem like a problem that you're going to maybe temporarily lose your ability to hold a licence, or be restricted to flying as two-crew only, understandably that may be a disappointment.

That anomaly on the ECG may just be something which will save your life. It may have detected a problem nice and early so that with medication or diet modification, you can go on to live a very healthy, long, and happy life where you get to be in the audience and see your grandchildren graduate from medical school or attend their weddings.

It should be noted that the Aviation Medicine section is looking to do everything possible to allow you into the air, and once there, keep you there as long as possible until the odds are that you are likely to become a hazard to your passengers or yourself by having a sudden or subtle incapacitation event which could render you incapable to flying an aircraft during your time at the controls.

If you are fortunate enough to be in the PNR and deal with Dr Jay Danforth, you can be assured he is going to be "on your side" and want the best possible outcome for you. He is a very highly competent specialist in aviation medicine.

So Dan .... its disconcerting, no doubt. However, it just might be the thing that saves your life.

Best wishes for a long and healthy future.

The Old Fogducker
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Rudder Bug
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by Rudder Bug »

Beautiful post Old Dog, thanks!

Dan,

All my ECG's have been showing two light abnormalities for all of my life. I am born like that. I've held a Class I since 1969, now 58 year old and I feel great.

Good luck and don't let your dream slip away.

Giles
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DanWEC
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by DanWEC »

Thanks guys. There is no comradarie anywhere like there is in aviation. It's awesome. I really appreciate the kind words and the PM's.

So-
Reverse P wave... if that means anything to anyone. I'm a pretty healthy guy, I'm on a team 3 seasons of the year, and I run and train almost every day. I've done a 5 minute mile.... (but I'd rather drink 5 beers)

Possibly a stress test coming up, who knows.
Regardless, like you said Fog, it's better knowing something than ignoring it. But that being said, there is a very high possibility that it's the way my heart has been all my life, and it's perfectly fine, but it's only when you're put under the microscope of the Cat 1 that these come up. Nobody gets a scan when they're 15!

I'll find out updates from my fam doc and the TC cardiologist by middle of next week.

Thanks again, and Fog- thanks for taking the time to pound out such an inspirational post. I humbly thank you on a day that I haven't talked to very many people.

Dan
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by Married a Canadian »

I had an "inverted T wave in the lateral lead" whatever that meant. They stuck me on a treadmill wired meup to the gills with monitoring equipment and made me run till I dropped....then said "you are fine!"

Last time around my resting heart rate was 42 which worried them so I had to wear a monitor for a day to check I didn't have some one in a million problem with the heart.
The fact that I was only in my early thirties and do a lot of sporting activity didn't really register.

They do make doubly sure in the aviation medicals just because of the nature of the job you are doing.
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The Old Fogducker
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by The Old Fogducker »

Dan:

Very glad I could set your mind at ease.

With the history you've presented, you can have a very high level of confidence that you'll have Cat 1 status quickly.

Unfortunately, there is a widely held but erroneous perception the Aviation Medicine section staff are like a pack of wolves following the "Pilot Caribou Herd" watching for the slightest sign of weakness or odd behaviour so they can close in and hamstring the victim, then eat it while its still alive.

Nothing could be further from the way they view their job.

Regards,
The Old (nurse ... pass the hemostat) Fogducker
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SeptRepair
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by SeptRepair »

I had one of them "abnormal" ECG's a couple months back. I'm in my 40's and don't exercise as much as I should. They hooked my up and I did the stress test till it felt like my heart would fall out of my chest. Everything was fine and the doc just shrugged her shoulders and said "its just one of those things". Till you get the stress test done I wouldn't fret too much.
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by ArcticKat »

Hi Dan.

With the information you provide it's difficult to determine what might be the issue. There are many causes for an inverted P wave. FogDucker provides excellent advice and is quite accurate in his information. When one looks at an ECG, he is looking at a printout of the electrical activity of the heart. When there is a positive deflection (the line goes up) the electric current is flowing from the top of the heart to the bottom. When there is a negative deflection, the current is going from the bottom to the top. There are three pacemakers in the heart that can be used to initiate a heartbeat. The normal one is the SinoAtrial (SA) node. It is located at the top of your heart and when it fires, the P wave has a positive deflection and is known as a sinus rhythm. The P wave indicates that the top half of your heart is contracting. The AtrioVentricle (AV) node is located near the middle of your heart. If the SA node quits working, the AV node will take over. When this happens, the electrical current generated will flow backwards through the top half of your heart and generally show the inverted P wave. This is known as a Junctional Rhythm.

Typically, the SA node has an intrinsic rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute. The AV node, however, has a slower rate of 40 to 60 beats per minute. What has your pulse been like? Does the inversion occur in all of the ECG leads? Do you have any previous ECGs to compare this to?

If your pulse is in the 60 - 100 beat range and the inversion is not in all leads, it could be something as simple as an infection or that your SA node is in a location that is not standard for everyone. Have you had any recent infections? It's possible you've had this for your entire life and just never knew about it until now.

My last ECG had a few premature ventricular contractions in it, I still passed. :)
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by Hedley »

It should be noted that the Aviation Medicine section is looking to do everything possible to allow you into the air
Hahahahahahahaha. Good one. Here are some others:

1) Cheque is in the mail
2) I'll respect you in the morning

The trick is to learn to say these things with a straight face.
Nothing could be further from the way they view their job
Stop, stop, already, ok? I'm going to pee my pants laughing if you keep this up.
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DanWEC
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by DanWEC »

Pulse rate was 90 and 95 for the two tests respectively. I was nervous on the second.
It's all speculation until the cardio's get back to me, but with a regular rhythm and an assumed (hopefully) pass on the stress test, I hope all will be fine.
I have no family history of heart diseases, and no recent or chronic infections. Had a 24 hours stomach flu a few months back.
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by Beechball »

Same as all the above... Went to a substitute AME cause my regular guy was on vacation. She found an abnormality, don't have the term but it's something about one of the valves closing slightly late. Scared the crap out of me! My regular guy came back and said not to worry, but his machine picked up the same anomaly. Sent to do a cardiac stress test and passed with flying colors! Hearts' in perfect condition. The anomaly does exist and it's a recent development however the cardiologist says it's commensurate with age (43yrs) but absolutely innoculous with no effect on cardiac efficiency. Sent his report to the FAA and T/C and it's now a dead issue (pardon the pun).
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ArcticKat
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by ArcticKat »

Sounds to me like you will have no issues. Even if you may require medication (likely worst case scenario) I don't believe it will hinder your ability to fly.
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youngtimer
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by youngtimer »

One ecg, following lots of coffee and a road incident on the way to the medical, the nurse looked at the results and said uh-oh, this isn't good. I calmed down for a few minutes and re-did the test with as clear and calm a mind as I could, and the second test was fine. Scary and could have been the machine's fault the first time but no problems since then.
On a slightly related note, be very careful of medications that your regular doctor prescribes, even if they tell you they have many other pilot patients who take the same medication with no problems on their aviation medical. Talk to your aviation doc about everything before you take it.
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by The Old Fogducker »

Hedley, normally I'm in lock-step with you on everything you post, and have only respect for the material you contribute to the collective knowledge base of the forum. However, with your recent post on this thread, are you looking for a position as a new aviation character on an episode of the cartoon series "Family Guy?"

If not, perhaps you could enlighten the rest of us as to why you would choose to ridicule my post which is based upon considerable experience with the excellent Doctor Jay Danforth I named in the above note.

The Old (hand me the electrodes) Fogducker
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Hedley
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by Hedley »

perhaps you could enlighten the rest of us as to why you would choose to ridicule my post
You really, really don't want to go there.

I hate to burst your bubble, but some times in the past, Transport has not always done good things.

Drop me an email, and I will fill you in. As an ex-CAI, I suspect you will find it enormously embarrassing.
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by The Old Fogducker »

No, actually, I do want you to go there.

Burst away .... I'm a big boy and have lots of tears left unshed.

The Old (where's my crying towel?) Fogducker
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by Golden Pilot »

Unfortunately, Dr Danforth is no longer there to look after the best interests of Pacific area Pilots. He has moved on, not exactly sure where? I have only had good dealings with him, but am now testing his replacements good nature. We'll see if the replacement has Dr Danforths attitude or not very very soon.

As far as bad ECG's....in this little one horse town, the local discount ECG machine seems to fail most people. I was sent to YLW last year to run the treadmill like a fat little Hamster. Before I even had the chance to show my stuff, the Resident Cardiologist took one quick look at a poorly faxed copy of my local ECG and said, "Why are you here? your ECG is completely normal". The local machine had figured me for near death.

Don't sweat the stress test, (Pun intended) it's easy, painless and should be over in about 10-15 minutes. The worst part was the stupid Hospital gown thing, can you say full moon? I passed with no problems ( July 2010 ), so "should" get TC off my back for 2 years...... here's hoping anyway?
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Re: Anyone have an abnormal ECG on Cat 1?

Post by Hedley »

You really want to destroy this thread and have it deleted? No problem.

In 2001 I enraged Transport. Spent 4 years in court at the Tribunal, Tribunal Review, Federal Court, and Federal Court of Appeals. Charges were laid and dropped, different charges were laid, etc. Suffice to say that I angered Transport.

After that was over, my father had a bypass. Recovered nicely. Cat 1 medical was re-instated except "no aerobatics" restriction placed on his medical. Odd. All other pilots before or after him that had a bypass have no such restriction - they can fly aerobatics.

Transport claimed that no one had ever had a bypass and had aerobatics, and because they had no data, it was a bad idea. My father agreed to be the guineau pig. Transport replied that they would not accept any data.

Meanwhile in the USA, many pilots have had bypasses and fly acro all the time. FAA had no problem issuing a class 2 medical to my father on his self-standing FAA CPL with no such silly no acro restriction. He has done acro ever since at airshows around the world, with no problems.

Apparently Canadian hearts are different than American hearts. Transport refuses to accept the FAA's data. I don't understand what nationality has to do with medicine.

Anyways, my father phones up his old military buddy, Dr Appleford, who works at 4900 Yonge St, and asks him what all this silliness is about. Dr Appleford replies, "They are angry at Andrew". Me.

This is incredible. To do damage to me - to shut down my career as a formation aerobatic pilot - Transport attacked and destroyed my father's remaining aviation career. I am told the mafia will not "do family", but Dr Appleford said otherwise about Transport, and I have no idea why he would lie to us about this.

I can only wonder what Transport is going to do next. Are a bunch of CAI's going to get together at lunch, drive around to my daughter's school, and rough them up? A little free advice, OFD: you go near my daughters, your indexed pension will not protect you.

This is so incredibly weird, I don't like to talk about it because it sounds so insane.

But, it's true. And, it gets even weirder.

PS Chris: Thanks, buddy. Remember, that what goes around, comes around.
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