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EKG/ECG results and information


Guest Critical Mass

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Guest Critical Mass

F16PilotMD,

Had my FC1a done today. The examiner said that I had a "borderline" EKG and the flight doc reiterated it.

Does "borderline" terminology indicate a specific abnormality or just that one of the electrical returns came close to regulation max/mins?

The way they used the term "borderline" made it sound like it was medical lingo for a specific EKG abnormality.

If the term indicates a specific problem, what are the chances, if any, that it will be a disqualifying condition?

Thanks for the help.

[ 15. February 2005, 22:45: Message edited by: Critical Mass ]

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Guest Lightninbo

Not that i'm an expert in the field.... but my ekg came back borderline a couple of years ago, the flight doc seemed to shrug it off as acceptable and I was qualified fc1a... now im awaiting nav school dates.

hope that calms the nerves a bit till the flight doc can respond.

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Guest Critical Mass

Neither the technician or the doctor seemed to be concerned about it so hopefully thats a good sign. Good to hear of similar situations turning out positively.

Wasn't a good idea taking blood pressure readings immediately after telling me my EKG was abnormal though

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Guest JoeMama

Borderline EKG doesn't mean a damn thing. The EKG machine "reads" the EKG and puts a bunch of possible diagnoses at the top...and calls the EKG either "normal" "abnormal" or "borderline."

The cardiologist will actually read the EKG..what the computer puts at the top of the page means nothing. I've seen hundreds of normal EKGs that have "borderline" written by the computer. I'm surprised the examiner even told you that..he/she should know better.

So to answer your question, having "borderline" at the top of your EKG won't help you determine whether you have any kind of condition that could disqualify you from FC1....it's not specific for anything. What matters is what the cardiologist sees when he looks at the EKG.

[ 16. February 2005, 13:27: Message edited by: Jordan ]

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  • 6 months later...
Guest ILLiniFlyer16

I had my FC1A a few months ago and just found out that I might have to go back because they found something on my EKG saying its a normal abnormality???

(I'm trying to repeat what he told me earlier)

He said that the electrical signal that is sent to my heart is delayed a bit when it goes down the left side vs. the right side of my heart. He said it wasn't serious at all but that I still need to see a cardiologist

I'm not quite sure at all what this means, anyone can tell me if I should start freaking out or what. I should be going to Scott AFB on Thursday.

Thanks

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If it was something serious, they would have told you to go to the hospital. We have a responsibility to refer someone for care if we find something abnormal on an examination.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest mernest

I completed my initial flight physical after being selected by my unit back in June. This past weekend I repeated my EKG because Brooks had ordered additional studies. The letter my medical unit received stated that "Additional studies are needed because member's test(s) displayed nonspecific T wave changes and nonspecific ST depression. My flight doc said that I'm in good shape and I have excellent blood pressure. He believes this is probably just a "normal abnormality." Can any of the flight docs shed some light on this for me? Is this something that I should be worried about? Thanks for the help.

GO COLTS!

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I had an abnormal EKG and they made me do an ECG and that made them happy. So more than likely with a few more tests youll be good to go also.

Good luck

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Guest doctidy

Your flight doc is correct. If there was something to really be worried about they wouldn't have sent a letter, they would have called you or your personal physician to get you in for evaluation quickly.

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  • 4 months later...
Guest mernest

I have a question for the flight docs and hope that you could shed some light on the regs concerning echo results. Brooks had ordered that I have an echo done after my EKG read abnormal. The conclusion of the echo report reads as follows:

There are no obvious regional wall motion abnormalities noted. There are no obvious structural valvvular abnormalities. There is no significant pericardial effusion. No intracardiac masses are detected. No abnormalities were noted on Doppler exam. There is slight asymmetric left ventricular hypertrophy. No significant doppler abnormalities noted. A visual estimation of the ejection fraction is 55%-65%. SUMMARY- Very mild LV septal hypertrophy, no HOCM physiology noted. The LV systolic function is normal. No overt doppler abnormalities noted.

What exactly does all this mean? My medical is being held up pending the outcome of the echo. Will this report give me the green light or will it create more delays? Thanks for all the help.

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Guest doctidy

I don't know if they will accept the report or go on to review the echo themsleves. I don't have your EKG to know what was the problem that caused them to want the echo in the first place. As docs, we try to correlate one test w/ another.

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Guest mernest

The letter my medical unit received stated that "Additional studies are needed because member's EKG displayed nonspecific T wave changes and nonspecific ST depression. I don't know if that helps or not. I assume they will review the echo themselves because we sent the video of the echo along with the report. Assuming their findings at Brooks are the same as the report will that satify them? The only thing that showed up on the echo is very mild LV septal hypertrophy. Is this a DQ'd condition?

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Guest doctidy

It sounds like you've done all the right things and nothing of any significance has been found. You'll just have to wait now for final review and disposition. I'd maintain a positive outlook...sure looks positive!

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  • 1 month later...
Guest NoleMet

So I had my initial FCIa today... The doctor looked at my EKG and said that to him everything looked normal, but the machine flagged it for arhythmia, so it would have to be redone later in the week. Does this happen often? If it comes out with the same flag, is there any sort of waiver I can get? Anyone else had this happen before?

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Guest healer

If you are young and healthy with no history of heart disease you almost certainly have a "Sinus Arrhythmia". As the previous post says, it's a normal variant and nothing to worry about. It shouldn't be a problem.

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Guest F16PilotMD

Need specifics. "Brooks" has a listing of all arrhythmias and their disposition. Let us know when you get a final reading on the re-check. You will likely be fine.

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  • 5 months later...
Guest Dma1980

I have used the handy dandy search tool and found some great info on this topic. It's nice to be reassured that I am not the only one with this concern.

I was selected for active duty upt in May. After waiting about a month I finally got in for my physical. After a scheduling mishap I was allowed to finish my physical a month later. (good thing I was live close to a base) My physical sat all alone on an Airman's desk for nearly 3 months. Got a call 2.5 months after initial physical from my 4th recruiter, who admitted to me she has no idea how OTS recruiting. Needless to say my confidence in her went through the roof. To her credit she has been the best recruiter I have had and I finally feel as if I am accomplishing something.

I say all that to say this..... After two Docs looked at my physical and signed off on it, my EKG was flagged by HQ. I have since retaken it and it has been processed through Brooks. It came back today I was told I need to take Holter test. The Airman, who is my POC, said that I have PAC's. I know that that is a common diagnoses and at least I don't have PJC's.

My question is what do they hope to accomplish from a Holter and do I still have a chance at flight? Frankly nothing else looks appealing to me. Any help would be appreciated, even a some words of advice/encouragement would be nice right now.

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Guest doctidy

A Holter is a 24hour recording of your heart beat. It quantifies what the EKG is showing. It also shows if there is anything more than just PACs going on.

Words of encouragement...they wouldn't have asked for the Holter if you had no chance.

Words of advice...no coffee, caffeine, chocolate, cigarettes, antihistamines, anything w/ caffeine in it...for a good 5 days prior and during the Holter. All those are stimulants...which will exacerbate the PACs.

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  • 5 months later...

I met with the flight surgeon on Friday to discuss the results of my FCIA. He said everything was fine and he saw nothing that would keep it from getting approved. However, when I looked at the results of EKG they were as fowllows: my sinus rhythm was normal, a possible enlarged left atrial, and a borderline ECG. The surgeon did act if there was a problem, but is this something that could be in future. I am just looking for a plain language explanation of the results. Other info I am 30 and this is for the USA, so I am not sure if there is a difference in standards.

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Guest F16PilotMD

What you are probably looking at is the "diagnosis" at the top of the ECG print-out. Notoriously in error. I don't even look at them. I read them myself. Likely your fine. It will get "caught" by the approval authority if the doc missed something. Once your physical comes back "approved", you should be good to go.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest Jenny

On my IFC-1 exam my EKG results came back as "sinus bradycardia with sinus arrythmia. Otherwise normal EKG." After asking the flight doc about this I discovered that it's nothing to worry about for someone who is athletic and young (I'm 25 yrs old).

My question is:

I know that Brooks MFS is no longer doing Echos unless something abnormal is found on someone's FC-1. Would sinus bradycardia with sinus arrythmia be considered "abnormal?" I.E. Would I have to get an Echocardiagram at MFS?

Just trying to know what I;m in for...thanks for any replies.

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Guest Rage_:P
On my IFC-1 exam my EKG results came back as "sinus bradycardia with sinus arrythmia. Otherwise normal EKG." After asking the flight doc about this I discovered that it's nothing to worry about for someone who is athletic and young (I'm 25 yrs old).

My question is:

I know that Brooks MFS is no longer doing Echos unless something abnormal is found on someone's FC-1. Would sinus bradycardia with sinus arrythmia be considered "abnormal?" I.E. Would I have to get an Echocardiagram at MFS?

Just trying to know what I;m in for...thanks for any replies.

nope. There would have to be something more.

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  • 9 months later...

So I went up for my initial FC1 at my guard unit this month, and everything that I got immediate results for was fine except the EKG. The result was abnormal. The flight surgeon said that its because my heart, according to the results, has slightly higher de-polarization than normal. Everything else in the EKG was fine, just the one P-wave that indicated the slightly higher heart de-polarization. He didn't think I should do another EKG when I asked, and felt like AETC and the Nat'l Guard Bureau might ask for additional testing, but said he didn't think they would, and should approve my physical. Has anyone seen this issue before? Realistically, am I facing a retest, or DQ because my heart builds up more of a charge prior to pumping blood? Man I knew I should've laid off the hot sauce! :banghead:

Edited by ATB
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