A question on BP

[fly_by_night]

Well I went to the doctor the other day for some pain in my hamstring, but when I left that was the least of my conserns. When the nurse took my blood presure it was 161/106. I've had high blood presure, but it has been steadly increasing over the last year or two. The doctor on campus took the BP again and it was lower at a mier 157/106 . He is an AME and wants to put me on BP medication . My question is, when I report this on my next medical (which is next month) what, if anything, will happen? I'm only 23 so I don't know if that will work for or against me. My doctor just wasn't all that clear on anything the FAA would do. Thanks for any response to this.

[SUSPilot]

Maybe it's just me, but I do not go to a doctor that is an AME for anything but a medical. If they find anything, they have to tell OKC

[flyguy]

I'd ask your regular doctor about what you might do to lower it overall, but also for some temporary fix for your exam. For example taking asprin will thin your blood and reduce BP, or maybe you could drastically reduce your cholesterol intake 2-3 weeks before the exam. Eat lots of veggies, drink lots of water. I don't know if I'd suggest offering the information that you had the high BP, especially since they will check it on their own. Good luck with it. My AME seemed a little concerned that mine was 180/75. I though that was perfectly normal.

[flyguy]

BTW, if you could lower it without having to go on medication, you won't have to report anything to the AME, so talk to your doctor about what you could try before going on the meds. Also check AOPAs website about the meds you might be given. If the FAA has no problems with the medication, it should not present any problem.

[mtsu_av8er]

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My AME seemed a little concerned that mine was 180/75. I though that was perfectly normal.

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And you're still alive??

[flyguy]

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My AME seemed a little concerned that mine was 180/75. I though that was perfectly normal.

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And you're still alive??

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My bad...I meant 120/75. Actually now that I think about it it was 120/80. That's why I was thinking 180. Anyways, it was the 80 he was worried about. I thought anywhere from 70-90 was normal.

[mtsu_av8er]

I think that some doctors try to be a little more proactive about blood pressure than others. When I went for my regular annual physical checkup last year, my doctor told me that he was extremely concerned about my blood pressure because it was 125/80. He wasn't concerned, he didn't want me to get some more cardiovascular activity...he was extremely concerned.

Needless to say, I left the office freaked out and worried that I'd never fly again.

Then I learned that he was jumping the gun a little bit. But I did start thinking about my own BP more, and changed some small eating habits that make alot of difference over time. That in itself dropped it a couple of points in a few weeks.

My AME, on the other hand, really doesn't care. With the limit being 155 (D), he'd issue my medical if I was at 154 and not say a word!!!

All in the doctor, I suppose....

Flyguy, I was worried about you being one of the living dead, though!!!!

[flyguy]

120/80 or 125/80 both sound perfectly normal to me. Am I missing something?

[mtsu_av8er]

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120/80 or 125/80 both sound perfectly normal to me. Am I missing something?

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Not that I can tell....overzealous doctors is all we have, I think....

[Doug Taylor]

Man, your doctor would call the paramedics on ME then!

[mtsu_av8er]

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Man, your doctor would call the paramedics on ME then!

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I was going crazy!!! I had never had any problem with my BP, so I didn't know what was high and what was low. I'd always exercised at least a little bit (sometimes alot...) and ate pretty well...and here he is making me think I need to go casket shopping!!

[Doug Taylor]

Try this man, my first FAA physical (1987), the doctor puts the spygmamometer on my chest, looks a little bewildered, runs out of the room, comes back with three cardiologists and has a nurse wheel-in a EKG (EEG?)

I guess I had a bizarre sounding heart murmur and he thought he was going to have to admit me into the hospital. But apparently, after two weeks of research, determines that a good number of black males around my age (at the time, that is) have a congenital heart murmur.

A little scary when you're still in high school thinking you're 'impervious', ya know?

[mtsu_av8er]

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Try this man, my first FAA physical (1987), the doctor puts the spygmamometer on my chest, looks a little bewildered, runs out of the room, comes back with three cardiologists and has a nurse wheel-in a EKG (EEG?)

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Wow...that's gotta freak you out!!!

Did you have to report that to the FAA??

[Doug Taylor]

I don't think he found it 'remarkable' since it was congenital and went away about 18 months later.

[SUSPilot]

My AME gave me a scare last month when I got my medical. He takes my blood pressure with a cuff that was a too small and got a reading that was so high I should have been dead, but then realized his mistake, took the reading again and everything came out fine.

[ready2fly]

Man, I remember my first football physical in college. Here I was in the very BEST shape of my life and the nurse looks at me and says "so, has your blood pressure always been high?"

Whaaaaa?????

I just told her "no, I'm just not used to having a female touch my nads.... then tell me to turn my head and cough."

Turns out, my blood pressure was fine.

[AirborneMedic_ANGa10]

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I'd ask your regular doctor about what you might do to lower it overall, but also for some temporary fix for your exam. For example taking asprin will thin your blood and reduce BP

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Aspirin does not 'thin your blood' nor does it reduce BP. It keeps your platelets from coagulating (sticking together), which basically means that clotting is prohibited. The description of thinning your blood is just used to oversimplify the matter. Aspirin is not used to treat hypertension either. It is often used in individuals with hypertension to prevent or reduce the deleterious effects of hypertension or the underlying disease process (which may or may not be causing the hypertension itself). Hypertension, of course, has several causes, and sometimes the cause isn't understood. In fact, primary hypertension (hypertension which is not caused by another disease process) isn't really understood at all! If you have another process going on, like kidney insufficiency, then you'll treat the cause, not just signs and symptoms. Drugs used to treat hypertension include ACE-inhibitors, calcium-channel blockers, and diuretics.

**Disclaimer: None of my info should replace or override the advice of your physician...do your own research, too! Remember, physicians don't know everything! Disclaimer over**

Doug: EKG=ECG. An EEG measures electrical activity in the brain.

[Icelandair]

what about people like me that get so uptight about going to doctors that i'm sure my BP goes up just from panic. I've always hated doctors, its due to a fear of needles. Even when i know im not getting pricked, i still get soooooooooo riled going to a doctors office. They must think my resting heartrate is like 95, when its something much lower like 60 or something.

[fly_by_night]

[quoteRemember, physicians don't know everything! Disclaimer over**


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Tell me about it, I was told that the max. bp was 155/85 by my AME, the same one I've been seeing over the last couple of years. Turns out it is actually 145/95, doesn't sound like much but when your bp is as high as mine has been every point counts. It may be time to switch AME.

[bullmastiff]

Mine was too high on as few military flight phyiscals. The nurse told me to stop drinking caffeine in the AM on test days. After that, I never had another problem.

[shooter13]

Make sure they are using the right cuff for your arm size. Apparently I have large arms (fat not muscle) and the regular cuff makes it seem higher than it is. I don't know how those things work anyway.

[Doug Taylor]

I don't know why, but I had this image of Eric Cartman yelling "Beefcake...BEEEEEFCAAAAKE!" with the 'arms' comment.

[ready2fly]

"screw you guys.... I'm going home."

[SUSPilot]

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Make sure they are using the right cuff for your arm size. Apparently I have large arms (fat not muscle) and the regular cuff makes it seem higher than it is. I don't know how those things work anyway.

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Exactly what happened to me

[fly_by_night]

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Make sure they are using the right cuff for your arm size. Apparently I have large arms (fat not muscle) and the regular cuff makes it seem higher than it is. I don't know how those things work anyway.

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Exactly what happened to me

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And me too, I went back to the doc today and the nurse took my bp at 150/97. My doc came in and took it w/the larger cuff and it was 130/92 Ahhh...so right after he took that reading he gave me the paperwork for the medical and 20 minutes later I had my 2nd class.