Originally Posted by
hmnijpc
Hi, I recently went in for my class one medical to start flight school. The ECG came back indicating I have AFIB. After going for a second opinion (second ECG) which said my heart was completely fine, and sending my data to a friend that is a cardiologist, he responded with how is this guy even a doctor no AFIB even shows on your chart and he interpreted this incorrectly. I'm trying to keep costs down for the moment if I can to proof my case which is why I went to a friend and my local hospital for another test.
I'm so enraged. I have already reached out to my Aerospace Medical Division to see where I can submit my evidence or contest the results. Is reaching out to my Medical Division the best step to be taken to begin with? I don't want my start date pushed back too far. If anyone knows of something faster because I might be blinded by disappointment, please let me know.
Thanks.
I wouldn't be enraged...
1. Some cardiac rhythm issues are occasional or intermittent, in fact everybody has them every now and then. These are considered normal/benign. Since the FAA EKG is only about six seconds, if you have the bad luck to have something spike during the EKG then the FAA might want you to wear a monitor for 24 hours so they can see exactly how often it pops up. If that's all it is, you'll be fine.
2. The EKG machine transmits the results to the FAA.
3. The AME, who is typically not a cardiac doc, may flag something which looks unusual (to him) for followup.
4. Sometimes the AME will hand you a medical, and then a couple months later, after the FAA reviews your EKG, you'll get a letter in the mail stating that you need to do specific followups within X amount of time in order to keep your medical active.
Is what it is, you're probably just fine. Did the AME deny the medical, or defer to the FAA?
You may want to research which local 1C AMEs are considered good by professional pilots, some are very cautious, and others are not helpful with any issues. The AME you saw *should* have explained the path forward to you?
Did you show the FAA EKG to your cardiologist friend? Like I said, it may have been something intermittent that they didn't catch on the later EKG. In that case the solution is probably a Holter monitor (24 hour annoyance).
Helpful hints... when you have your FAA EKG, don't do any any caffeine or supplements that morning. If you're in good cardio shape, do a set of pushups right before they hook you up to the machine. If you're in good shape, your heart may "idle" a little bit rough like a hot rod engine. Getting your heart rate up will minimize random spikes that might require followup. The nurse will not be surprised if a pilot does pushups.