Exercise ECG
I'm in my 70s and still walk long distances for pleasure, once or twice annually around 200 hilly miles in a fortnight.
When I was originally put on the Bruce protocol at LGW, I was asked just to continue until I'd had enough.
Used to get bored after 13/14 minutes by which time the ramp is steep and nearly trotting pace !
Once, a few years ago, it caught me out on the recovery phase (an occasional missed/weak beat or something) and they took my medical away.
After weeks of waiting and incurring a lot of expence, I had a CT scan which was suggested by my consultant but not then approved by the CAA, as apparently they had no one qualified to read it.
It thus had to be sent away and all that meant more weeks of waiting because of holidays etc.
After losing the whole of a Summer they said that actually there was nothing wrong; the heart/arteries etc were clear and totally healthy !
The situation now is that, courtesy new rules from EASA, I can now work with a Class 2 medical that, at the moment, doesn't require an Exercise ECG.
Maybe I can now recover the large amount I spent because of a possible misdiagnosis by a doc who works one day a week, now and again.
If I worked that infrequently as a pilot, I wouldn't feel that I was really on top of the job.
Surely, these days there must be a more satisfactory way of assessing the health of the heart and general fitness ? Oh, and btw, I still fly a fair amount of medium G aeros with no aches or pains ever. None of your 10-12G stuff though……...
Last edited by Sleeve Wing; 31st May 2013 at 10:40.