Heart flutters

[aero99]

Has anyone had heart fluttering? I do plan on seeing a doctor about it but wanted to see if anyone here has had this happen to them or if it is a disqualifier on the medical.

Did a little research on the net (for what it's worth) and seems it is quite common. I backed off on the coffee and seems to help, but it didn't go away.

Anyway, just wanted to see if I could get a preliminary ruling if someone has had this issue in the past.

 

[ILLINI]

I don't have any personal experience with this perticular topic, but check out www.leftseat.com I have heard that it is a pretty good aeromedical website that can lead you to the answers and help that you may be looking for.

l8r

 

[sydeseet]

Do you belong to AOPA???? They have a medical hotline with people who can assist you. Also, check out the FAA website www.faa.gov. It has quite a bit of info. about medical cert. stuff. I would be careful, one mark on your record involving your heart can make a medical certificate a major pain. Of course, your health comes first, but I'd get some "off the record" advice first if you can.

 

[SF3CAP]

Hey aero:
This has happened to me, but it was brought on by allergy medication. I was taking seldane, and had it pretty bad. Take a close look at all meds you take - over the counter, too. This is a common side-effect of a lot of meds. Good luck.

 

[Crabtree]

Heart Problem

I had a friend that had this happen to. When he finally went to the doctor, they referred him to a specialist. To make a long story short the doctors thought he had tachcardia (sp?). The doctor told him to try staying off of caffine completely, and to try a little better stress management. This worked for him. He said he still had an episode about once every 8 months, but it was better than taking pills for the rest of his life.

BTW, You have to really watch what you eat and drink, according to his doctor, some bottled waters and butters even have caffine in them.

Hope it helps

 

[aero99]

thanks for the info.

Will be goin to the Dr. soon with fingers crossed.

 

[Jump Pilot]

I had premature ventricular contractions. Basically, I had an extra heartbeat thrown in every so often. Didn't even know it until I had an EKG done by an Internist for another issue.

Here is what I did:

1. Doctor recommended stress test. PVC did not interfere with my body under stress. Passed.
2. Took results to the flight surgeon who did a first class medical. He ran his own strip and sent it to the FAA in OKC with my stress test results.
3. FAA said "cool" and issued the first class medical.

Even though the flying I do right now only requires a second class medical, I wanted to get the first class done right after the stress test. My thought was that if this comes up on an FAA EKG in the future and I need a first class med, I'll have several first class medical behind me to support my case.

Blue Skies.

 

[Tim47SIP]

I had the same problem that started in 86. When I was in the hosp in 92 for an unrelated condition, the docs had to flush my system with IV (I was on chemo). The heart flutter became very prevelant, about every 15 beats or so. When they did a blood test, they found that I was very low on Potassium and Magnesium. They injected them into the IV and the flutters almost instantly went away. I have been taking potassium and magnesium suppliments ever since (10 Years) and I have not had one episode since then. You might try this and see if it helps as electrolites (sp?) play a very big role in the body. Additionally, potassium suppliments have been know to help lower blood pressure (from AOPA source). But always seek a Doctors advice if the problem persists.

 

[Vavso]

oops sorry

n/T

 

[mooneydvr]

Try Virtual Flight Surgeions

VFS is a medical consulting group. They have a great website at www.aviationmedicine.com. They go into a lot of detail as it relates to heart conditions and how they impact flight physicals.