Not to derail the thread but has anyone ever had issues getting hired with premature ventricular contractions? They're not bad (less than 1,200 over 24 hrs last time I wore the Holter monitor). The Air Force doesn't require a waiver until you hit something like 10,000 over 24 hrs but I'm concerned that it may affect getting hired at a major (specifically DAL).

 

Moved post to new thread...

 

I had PVC's when working at UA. I had to have a heart cath, but when the doctor said it was no big deal, I was given the OK to go back to work.

 

How did you guys find out you had that? What did you feel? What was the tip off for you to bring up with the doctor that you thought something was off?

 

I noticed a strange heartbeat. It almost felt like it missed a beat followed by an unusually strong beat. I was working with a cardiologist last year. They're not life threatening or dangerous. In fact, he said that there are meds that can be given to minimize the symptoms (weird beats as described above) but if I wasn't bothered by them then he wouldn't prescribe the meds. He wasn't an AME but he was fairly sure that those meds would cause some issues with a flying physical so I opted out.

Mine are fairly minor. I notice them mostly after a workout or if I have a lot of caffeine.

 

Were you already on the line at UA or were they discovered during a pre-hire medical exam?

I'm concerned with both the Class 1 physical as well as any pre-hire medical exams. I haven't been able to find anything regarding the FAAs requirements for a Class 1 with these. Luckily, my #1 airline of choice is Delta and from what I'm hearing they don't require any sort of pre-hire exam.

 

For the medical you'll need to document your PVC's. The FAA will spell out the specific tests they require. This will include a 24hr Holter, blood work and stress test. (it's important to show that the PVC's don't increase during the stress test, in my case they completely disappeared). I've had no problem holding a normal (no S.I.) first class medical ever since.

 

I've had the 24hr Holter, blood work, and stress test stuff done before and kept all of the records. IIRC, my PVCs also went away during the stress test (generally increase after cooling down following exertion).

What is an S.I.?

 

An S.I. is a Special Issuance. You'd need to go through the medical paperwork merry-go-round for every medical. These typically take months to process, and could easily lead to a lapse between medicals. Come to think of it, I'm not even certain that they can issue special issuance's for 1st class medicals.

 

I noticed when I would get really tired or feel stressed that my heart would feel like it was double pumping, so I went to my doctor and he sent me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist put me on a halter monitor for like 5 days and then I went back for him to remove and read the findings. He then told me I should take time off until they found the issue because he suspected a bad valve. He did a heart catheterization and found that I was just having PVC's. He gave me a script for 25 mgs. of Atenolol to take as needed and cleared me to return to work. This all happened maybe 10 years ago. BTW, if you have these things, don't worry. I am told they are harmless, just annoying.

I don't want to mislead you guys and gals, but I retired from UA 2 years ago, but I like to keep up on what's happening. I have been reading the board for awhile and decided to make a few posts.