Heart Murmur
Hi,
I recently went for my JAA initial class 1 medical at Gatwick and everything was fine until the physical examination.
When the doctor was listening to my Heartbeat I could tell something was up as he was spending such a long time taking my blood pressure then listening to my heart again. Eventually he got another doctor in who confirmed a slight murmur could be heard on my Heartbeat. Both doctors said this was a fairly common occurrence and probably nothing to worry about but I would need to get a cardiologist to carry out an echocardiogram.
They said my ECG was fine?
I need to have a decision on my medical before the 13th July as I plan to go abroad to do some flight training (if possible). I know I should have gone for the medical first before making plans but there’s not much I can do about that now.
I was told I had 3 options,
1) Visit my local GP who would schedule a cardiologist appointment.
2) Visit the cardiologist at Gatwick (unfortunately off the day I was there) or one from a CAA List
3) Visit any other Cardiologist privately
Option 1 is no go due to the time constraints so I am going to have to see a cardiologist privately. I was told an initial consultation may cost around £150 (CAA - costs £165 but that includes treadmill) though could cost a lot more if I require ultrasound tests. No one was really too sure of prices though I suppose that depends where you go and what tests they carry out.
Has anyone been in a similar situation?
What prices were they quoted?
One of the doctors did suggested that because I had a slow pulse/heart rate and am quite large (6ft) the heart needs to pump more blood so this could be the cause of the sound - even suggested the cardiologist may say its ok without a in depth investigation due to my size and ECG?
If I were to pursue a career in aviation isn't this going to be a problem every time I need to renew my medical?
Would I have to visit a cardiologist every medical just to make sure everything was fine?