Blood Pressure Question

[gcmckc]

I'm looking at interviewing within the next few months. My question concerns BP limits during the medical portion of the hiring process.

Although I run 22 - 24 miles per week, don't smoke, eat healthy (low sodium, high fiber diet) rarely drink and height to weight proportion is well within limits (6'3", 175 lbs), I get a little antsy when my blood pressure is taken, i.e., around 133/82. My normal resting pulse is around 46 - 48 yet it'll jump into the upper 80's once the cuff is strapped on. Are numbers like this a show stopper for the medical portion of the hiring process?

Thanks for any info!

 

[SPilot]

With the FAA, it can pass with up to 155, my doctor told me. 133 is not really into the problematic hypertension stage yet, so you should be fine.

 

[gcmckc]

BP Question

Thanks for the reply, I know the 155/95 number but I wasn't sure if my numbers would raise an eyebrow or two with the respective airline medical folks.

 

[gnvav8r]

BP Tip

Here is an interesting thing for you to try... to lower your blood pressure without drugs. I had a mild hypertension (BP 140/90) not enough to worry about passing medical, but was on a minimal dose of anti-hypertensive.

Then one day my wife bought me a pack of nasal strips. You can get 'em at any drugstore or Walmart, usually in the allergy or sinus section. They look like bandaids, but have a soft spring core and they act by spreading your nostrils a bit apart, making the opening bigger. She bought them for me not because I snored, but because occasionally I'd wake up with a snort in the middle of the night and she wondered if I had a mild case of sleep apnea.

Well I thought that hokey... but glued one on and immediately was impressed at how much easier it was for me to breath. And I found that I could sleep the night thru without waking. And now I dream again (indicative of more REM sleep, which is good for you). And - get this - my BP is now 105/69 in the morning, 120/74 in the late afteroon, sans medication

So how do you explain this? Turns out that at least half of the people with hypertension have some degree of sleep apnea. When was it your doctor ever told you that?

But don't just take my word for it... I copied this from the internet, the abstract of a medical article:

The reference is:

# ^ Silverberg DS, Iaina A and Oksenberg A (January 2002). "Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea Improves Essential Hypertension and Quality of Life". American Family Physicians 65 (2): 229-36. PMID 11820487.

And the abstract is:

From the Department of Nephrology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel. [email protected]

"About one half of patients who have essential hypertension have obstructive sleep apnea, and about one half of patients who have obstructive sleep apnea have essential hypertension. A growing body of evidence suggests that obstructive sleep apnea is a major contributing factor in the development of essential hypertension. Despite many patients with obstructive sleep apnea having clear symptoms of the disorder, an estimated 80 to 90 percent of cases are undiagnosed. When physicians routinely seek the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea by asking patients (especially those with hypertension) three basic sleep-related questions about snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness and reports of witnessed apneic events, the number of cases diagnosed and treated increases by about eightfold. Eliminating snoring and occurrences of apneic-hypopneic episodes will dramatically improve patients' quality of sleep and eliminate excessive daytime sleepiness, which has a detrimental effect on general functioning. Increased alertness will reduce the likelihood that patients will be involved in motor vehicle crashes. In most studies in which blood pressure was measured following treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, daytime and nighttime blood pressure levels were found to decrease significantly. This decrease in blood pressure may also reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular complications. The key to the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea is physician knowledge about the disorder. The dramatic improvement in quality of life that occurs when patients are successfully treated for obstructive sleep apnea makes detecting and treating this disorder imperative."

It's worth a try for you. The lower your resting BP, the less chance of stroke, heard disease, etc.

Pete Roode

 

[pilotyip]

There are drugs for this. How many airlines require a company physical now days? I know in the 80's AAL had the killer physical from hades, but I understand it was ruled as discrimination and if you had 1st class med you were physically qualifed for the job.

 

[jmreii]

The FAA will allow medications for your hypertension as long as you have had a work-up by your doctor with blood pressure readings showing good control of your blood presure. AOPA is a goooood source of information in this particular area. This information is for all classes of medical certification. Good luck.

 

[Bandit60]

Be very careful with the word sleep apnea. Those are grounding words, and could be very difficult to regain your medical.

 

[gnvav8r]

Good point and I didn't know that.

Sleep Apnea comes in all gradations to those who mouth breathe when asleep, to those requiring CPAP machinery. In my case, if I inhale briskly, the sides of my nose tend to collapse... the strips made quite an improvement... but I don't think I have true sleep apnea. In any case... fore-warned is fore-armed, and thanks for the insight

Pete

 

[ERJFO]

There is also "sleep hypopnia" where you don't get 100% airway restriction. This isn't mentioned by the FAA and you can use CPAP stuff to help it out. I wouldn't mention it either but you could have "hypopnias" and not "apneas"...