New student with high BP

Karlinshiloh

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Sep 4, 2008
Messages
23
Location
NC
Display Name

Display name:
Karlinshiloh
I just went to get my medical done the other day and everything was fine except that my BP was elevated. It was above 155/90. I have an appointment with my PCP next week to see what I can do about this problem. I know that I have to get this under control for my health as well as to continue towards my PPL.
The AME deferred my application to the FAA and gave me some idea about what to expect. My question is, how long does it take for the FAA to respond to a deferment? Other than getting the BP under control what might the FAA want me to do for a positive outcome to the deferment?
Also I have about 9 hours in the logbook and in my opinion I'm maybe half way to solo, maybe longer. Any suggestions on weither I should continue with the lessons or put things on hold until I get this issue resolved? I plan on talking to my instructor tomorrow and see what he thinks about it. I'm just making sure I have thought of all my options. Thanks, Karl
 
Uh oh.... You should not have applied before talking it over with the doc to insure a pass first. However, it can still be done, but with a few more hoops to jump through.

Dr. Bruce is your best resource here. I'm sure he will chime in soon. Follow his advice to the letter!
 
You'll need a medically-based opinion to make the continue/hold decision on your training. If the underlying cause of your high BP is something that can be quickly brought under control so your medical is quickly approved (say, less than three monhts), I'd suggest continuing. You can move on to cross country and night flight training before instead of after soloing, and bang that part out while you're waiting. If not, putting your training on hold might be a better idea, especially if it will be six months or more before you can get a medical.
 
A few Quex, Karlin. First, AGE. Second, Height and Weight.

The office issuance with high blood pressure is simple, and I'm surprised the AME did not offer to hold your papers for fourteen days. Fourteen is a scramble but could have been done.

You need: A baseline EKG. Fasting Lipids and Glucose, and a serum Creatinine. You need to get established on a BP med (the prohibited ones I haven't seen Rx'd for fifteen years- Aldomet, Reserpine, Guanethidine), and have three BP checks on three separate days, then the doc writes "BP well controlled, no side effects of treatment, no apparent coronary disease." These three items are LITERALLY what the letter must at a minimum contain, and in addition mention of all of your meds and doses must be made.

He can issue on the spot if he has these.
 
Thanks for the replies folks. Especially Dr. Bruce. This is exactly the type of info I need. The doc I went to didn't seem to want to give out alot of info. Not sure of the reason and I would hate to speculate.
Dr. Bruce, I'm 44, 5'5 and as of weds at the docs office 195 dressed so I'd estimate 190 actual. From doing some research online I already know I have to drop some weight and stop smoking. Both of these are already in the works hopefully. And I'll find a pcp this week and see what happens from there. I think some of this is also caused from the stress of having a physical and my training depending on the outcome since the BP went higher each time they took it. That being said I also know now that I have in issue with BP and that this is going to take some time to get under control. Maybe not so much time to get it down to what the FAA want's, but getting down to a healthy BP will take time.
Dr Bruce, If I am reading your post correctly if I can get my BP 155/90 it's possible for me to take a letter from my doctor back to the AME stateing the results of the tests you mentioned and he can issue without waiting for notification from the FAA even though he has deffered it? Or would this have been the case if he had held the paperwork for 14 days?
Thanks again folks. with your help this doesn't look like the uphill dellemia that it appeared when I left the AME's office the other day. Karl
 
A few Quex, Karlin. First, AGE. Second, Height and Weight.

The office issuance with high blood pressure is simple, and I'm surprised the AME did not offer to hold your papers for fourteen days. Fourteen is a scramble but could have been done.

You need: A baseline EKG. Fasting Lipids and Glucose, and a serum Creatinine. You need to get established on a BP med (the prohibited ones I haven't seen Rx'd for fifteen years- Aldomet, Reserpine, Guanethidine), and have three BP checks on three separate days, then the doc writes "BP well controlled, no side effects of treatment, no apparent coronary disease." These three items are LITERALLY what the letter must at a minimum contain, and in addition mention of all of your meds and doses must be made.

He can issue on the spot if he has these.

Interesting dilema. I went in for my flight physical yesterday and failed because my blood pressure was high. The nurse took it twice, and the doctor took it himself a half dozen times. So the doctor told me exactly what Dr. Bruce says here, and made an appointment for me to come in and do the EKG and the lab work on Wednesday. That was yesterday. My wife and I were picking up groceries this morning, and I stopped by at the pharmacy and asked them if they could take my blood pressure. It was 130/70. I'm all set to take the EKG and the blood workup, to see what is going on here. I am real interested to see how things go on Wednesday. The thing is that I am 58 years old, so I want to pay special attention to my health. I run three times a week, I lost 26 lbs since my last physical, I do weight training twice a week, all with the goal of sailing through my flight physical. Just a little discouraging to fail it in this way.
 
For BP reduction, weight training is good, but aerobic training is better. You can do aerobic weight training using lighter weights, more reps, longer sessions, and continuous work, but you should consult a trainer on how to do that as well as your physician on your readiness for it.
 
For BP reduction, weight training is good, but aerobic training is better. You can do aerobic weight training using lighter weights, more reps, longer sessions, and continuous work, but you should consult a trainer on how to do that as well as your physician on your readiness for it.

I'm all over it. That is exactly what I've been doing for two years, trainer and all. Aerobic training three times a week, weights twice a week.
 

It is a little discouraging though, when you hit it hard for two years, spend money on gym memberships and for some college kid to tell you the difference between aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise, always thinking about how you are going to blow through the flight physical with no problems, just to find out you have high blood pressure on game day. Oh well, I felt great until yesterday.
 
Dr. Bruce, I'm 44, 5'5 and as of weds at the docs office 195 dressed so I'd estimate 190 actual. From doing some research online I already know I have to drop some weight and stop smoking. Both of these are already in the works hopefully. And I'll find a pcp this week and see what happens from there.
Everybody absolutely needs one.
I think some of this is also caused from the stress of having a physical and my training depending on the outcome since the BP went higher each time they took it.
Yes, and no....
That being said I also know now that I have in issue with BP and that this is going to take some time to get under control. Maybe not so much time to get it down to what the FAA want's, but getting down to a healthy BP will take time.
Dr Bruce, If I am reading your post correctly if I can get my BP 155/90 it's possible for me to take a letter from my doctor back to the AME stateing the results of the tests you mentioned and he can issue without waiting for notification from the FAA even though he has deferred it?
Yes.
Or would this have been the case if he had held the paperwork for 14 days?
Yes also. Not too terribly helpful an AME. But the overall perspective is, here's an overweight guy who needs to get his act together, and he bet that you would not be able to do it in 14 days given that you didn't have a primary care doc (and he's correct). So he sent in the papers.
Thanks again folks. with your help this doesn't look like the uphill dellemia that it appeared when I left the AME's office the other day. Karl
PS You can go to any other AME too, if you want. Amazed he didn't take the time to explain and that you had to get it here.... sigh.
 
I think some of this is also caused from the stress of having a physical and my training depending on the outcome since the BP went higher each time they took it.

I think that happens to every pilot! :yes:

I haven't had my BP taken in the last 6 years except at flight physicals and CDL physicals - Lose my wings, or lose my job! :yikes:

So after the latest flight physical, I ended up joining a fitness "club" of sorts (it's not one of the overcommercialized ones, it's run by a local hospital and all services are included). The first thing they do is a fitness evaluation. With nothing on the line, my BP was a solid 15 points lower than I've seen it in quite a few years. It'll be nice to see it go down further over time. :yes:
 
Well I will chalk all this up to experience. I talked to my CFI and other pilots at the airport yesterday and they all told me pretty much what you have Dr Bruce. And also got the names of some local AME's. I never really have had a pcp other than picking one to put on an insurance policy. The only time I've had to go to a doctor is to get my physical for work as a truck driver. I guess that is another lesson. Just didn't want to acknowledge I'm getting older and need to have a doc that knows me and that I need to get checked out every now and again.:)
Flyingcheesehead my situation was alot like yours. I drove for 13 years with a CDL and each time I went to get my medical card my BP would be a bit elevated but never this high. Atleast it was never mentioned that it could be a problem. I havn't driven a truck in nearly 3 years so my medical has been out for 2 atleast.
Well I guess I learned to talk to folks at the airport and here instead of venturing out on my own when I have questions so the experience isn't a completely bad one. Thanks again folks, Karl.
 
A couple days after my physical, I went in and had the EKG and a blood workup done. The nurse took my blood pressure, and it was within the FAA standards for the Class 3. The next day I went to my family doctor, and he checked me out. He thought that my blood pressure was a little elevated, but not higher than the FAA standards, which he was surprised that they were that high. So then I went back to my family doctor the following day for another blood pressure check, and it too was within the FAA standards. I took all of that over to the doctor who gave me the flight physical, and dropped it off. He called yesterday and said that he had reviewed my EKG, my blood workup, and the three blood pressure checks, and that he would issue the Class 3. Good news, but we still wonder why it was so high that one day. My family doctor is having me take my own blood pressure every day, and keeping a log for a month, just to see. So far it has been in the normal range, which is quite a bit lower than the FAA standards. I also stopped by the clinic to have it taken, just to make sure that the machine that I am using is accurate, and I was in the normal range. I guess that is good news too. My family doctor says that physically he can see no reason for me to have high blood pressure, so he thinks it is stress. I don't feel like I have any stress at all, but perhaps there is something there. I didn't feel that stressed about the physical, in fact I thought that I was going to sail right through it. We will have to see, as I am not going to get my medical and then forget about it until the next time. Better to figure it out now. I'm going to get my medical, but I guess that I would advise everyone to stay on top of their blood pressure, especially you guys who make your living flying. I had no idea that I would walk in there fit to fly and walk out grounded, just that fast.
 
Karl, I'm pretty much in the same "boat" you're in. I too have HBP and a deferred medical. I have been waiting since the first of November on the FAA. I talked with an AOPA rep about a week ago and she said that the FAA medical division is moving to a new building and they were still working on requests received back in September.

I'm paying the price of not having all my ducks lined up before heading for my bi-annual flt physical :-(.

Like yours, my flight physician wasn't too interested in me either. He certainly didn't offer to hold my paperwork for any period of time much less two week.
 
Well I talked to a senior AME last week and he is going to work with me on this. He is telling me that once I get the BP down and the afore mentioned tests done he thinks we can work things out without having to wait for the FAA letter. In the mean time I am continuing training. Everyone I have talked to here and other places seem to think this isn't a big issue to overcome so the stess level has dropped quite a bit with I'm sure will help. Once again thanks for the advice and similiar stories. It's all a very big help. Karl
 
Just an update for HarryG. Not sure if the FAA has gotten caught up or not but I got my letter telling me what sort of tests I need to have done yesterday. It was dated January 2nd so it took them less then a month to get it to me. Kinda surprising a Government agency was that quick.
 
Yea, their initial letter telling me what I needed was relatively quick also.

I sent them the requested documentation the first of November and am still waiting for the cleared medical.

I may be absolutely wrong but I suspect the first letter is an automatic reply the result of a medical analyst pressing the appropriate computer key; and that doesn't require a great deal of time sending out. However, reviewing the returned medical documentation is another issue.
 
UPDATE - I received my cleared medical certificate today from the FAA. I'm back in the air again :)
 
Congrats Harry. I am still hopeful of being right behind you, Karl.
 
Just remember that BP isn't always controllable with diet and exericse. I'm 42 years old, 6'1" and 170lb, run 15-20 miles weekly plus weight training...I'm currently training for a half marathon. My lipids/EKG/glucose are all good, and I still need meds to control my BP. It was never as high as yours steadily, but did have spikes that high. For me it's "essential hypertension", just genetics.

By all means lose the weight, quit smoking, and watch what you eat. Just be aware that might not be enough.

Good luck!
 
UPDATE: Well I was able to get my medical yesterday. I had the bloodwork done and everything if fine there and had the EKG done. I guess all the spiky lines are spiking in all the right spots. BP is under control with meds for now but I hope to atleast drop the dose after loosing weight. Already stopped smoking.
Went to the senior AME that has been advising me and went through all the paperwork and a reexam and he issued me the certificate.
He and the FAA both told me that I could have gone back the original AME and gotten this taken care of without having to redo the whole exam but in my opinion the original AME didn't seem interested in doing anything but doing the exam and getting me out the door, so I decided to send my money to the doc that seemed to have an interest in actually helping.
As I said earlier and I hope that other new students will find this and read it. If you have doubts on how something works ask here or ask someone with experience. Don't go into it blindly. you will save time, heartburn, and quite possibly money in the long run. Thank you all once again for all the great advice.
Karl
 
A very good resource is Usenet's sci.med.cardiology. You will have to cut through all the trash posters but Dr. Andrew Chung is very real and will answer your questions either in person (by telephone), by email or on the newsgroup.

Google Groups archives make for a good historical source.
 
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 365 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.
Back
Top