High Blood Pressue VA Rating
 

Retiring from the USAF and getting all my VA claim info in. Starting at AA this fall. My blood pressure is below FAA Class 1 max, been consistent, and have had my class 1 for over a year. Anybody have experience getting a hypertension rating from the VA and had issues with the FAA? The VA rating numbers are well below the FAA limit. I don't want to jepoardize my next career and also don't want to hide anything from the FAA.

Yes I know I need to get my crap together, but I have always ran kinda high, even as a fit 25 year old. (42 now)

Searched the forum and didn't get a real clear answer. My current AME is not great about getting back to me via phone calls/emails.

Thanks for any insights you can provide!

Last I heard the FAA high blood pressure limit was set ridiculously high by an old court case at 155/95. Even exceeding that should not result in grounding if an average of several measurements falls at or below that level. The American Heart Association recommends far more aggressive treatment:

https://i.ibb.co/4NDxDLj/IMG-6220.jpg

And while I THINK the FAA would like to use the AHA recommendations they are uncertain about their ability to convince the courts of the necessity to do that. Basically, if your doctor recommends treatment, go ahead and get it and the FDA will pretty much rubber stamp most accepted therapies as long as you are 155/95 or lower and having no threatening side effects.

I may be overthinking this, and I was definitely not specific enough in my question. But thank you for your response, it did clear some things up for me.

There are a few VA claims that the FAA will generally not give an approval to fly for. (TBI, PTSD, etc..) Anybody have info on hypertension VA claim ABOVE the threshold for the VA, but BELOW the FAA limit? Would that be treated like any other generic claim like knees or back? Or would that flag me as a higher risk?

you can only get a VA disability rating if your BP is uncontrollable. FAA requires your physician to provide documentation showing the medication controls your BP and doesn’t show any type of adverse effects. In a nutshell you won’t get a FAA medical if it’s uncontrollable and probably won’t get a disability rating unless it’s really bad.

Crud. I have an appt Friday. I guess I'll have to have a long convo with the doc.

Thank you for the info.

The FAA does not make a determination of your physical fitness to hold a medical certificate, based on your VA disability rating. The FAA requires you to disclose that information, but the FAA makes a determination about your ability to hold a medical, based on the standards prescribed for FAA physicals. The VA rating, and the FAA medical certificate, and separate, and independent.

If your medical status is insufficient to pass a FAA medical exam or obtain a waiver, then your VA status is irrelevant (other than you must disclose it).
If your medical status is sufficient to pass a FAA medical exam or obtain a waiver, then your VA status is irrelevant (other than you must disclose it).

If your medical status is insufficient to pass a FAA medical exam or obtain a waiver, then your VA status is irrelevant (other than you must disclose it).
If your medical status is sufficient to pass a FAA medical exam or obtain a waiver, then your VA status is irrelevant (other than you must disclose it).


Thanks for the info. On paper I fall in the second category. Hopefully thats as complicated as it gets.

You'll be required to disclose any disability rating you have, and you must document it; the FAA may require any documentation, but you're also required to provide the documentation used to claim the military disability. This is simply disclosure. The standard is still the FAA's standard, with regard to medical certificate issuance.

Before you do anything, apply for the VA disability, or for a FAA medical, you really should consult a medical service that specializes in the curve balls of the FAA medical world, and let them guide you. AMAS (aviation medical advisory service) comes highly recommended.

https://www.aviationmedicine.com

If you happen to be an AOPA member, they have a subscriber service that provides assistance with legal questions and medical issues, though for a question such as yours, I'd go with AMAS first.

Yes, AMAS or AOPA first.

Yes, your VA status does not control your FAA status, the FAA will make their own determination. They want to know about VA for obvious reasons, and obviously if you get a rating for something which is FAA DQ, then you have a problem.

Airlines pay a whole lot more than the VA.

Thanks for the good information. I had an appointment with the base cardiologist last week (who is also a prior AME). Getting some labs and other tests done. I also got in touch with AMAS and will share my info for those with this issue in the future.

TLDR: No issues getting a high blood pressure rating from the VA, just do the right things. Thanks for all the good gouge, hope this helps someone in the future.

From AMAS:

For hypertension, the FAA will want to see evidence that your condition remains well controlled each time you complete a medical application. The hypertension protocol is outlined in the article referenced above. You might want to print out the article and blood pressure protocol and take them with you to your medical appointments with your personal physician if your blood pressure remains elevated on follow up.

Regarding this condition and the VA benefit and how this plays into the FAA, there should be no issue at all regarding your ability to continue to fly. You will need to mark “yes” on Q 18 Y that you are receiving medical disability benefits but other than that, there should be no issue or concern in you being able to fly and obtaining your Class I medical. Simply show to your AME medical with a copy of your VA disability letter and show that to your AME. He will then go through a checklist with your WRT hypertension and then issue you a CACI (Condition AME Can Issue) which is best thought of as a local waiver. You can find a copy of that worksheet here: https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/media/...pertension.pdf