Blood Pressure

[Habu]

Is anyone out there currently taking any blood pressure medicine to lower your blood pressure?
I have been placed on a beta blocker (atenelol) and a calcium blocker (adalat) recently and was wondering if any of you guys out there might be on the same medication. If so, have any of you had any bad side effects from this medication or heard of anyone having bad side effects from these specific medications?

Thanks........

[Hew Jampton]

Atenolol can cause extreme fatigue, depression, nightmares and impotence amongst other side effects. Recent news articles, including 'The Lancet', say Lasartan is better at controlling high BP and has fewer side effects, but is three to four times the price. ACE inhibitors can also be better than beta blockers.

I trust that you have notified the Feds that you are receiving this treatment; this side of The Pond, such medication for high BP usually means some gardening leave.

[Habu]

Yes,
I have spoken with my AME and all of these drugs are approved for use without any interruption from flying. I have removed myself from the last several weeks of flying however, because of the extreme fatigue. It makes it difficult to function when everytime you sit for 5 minutes, you fall asleep. Just a matter of adjusting the dosage and adjusting to the medicine from what I have been told.

For your information, when I have to renew my medical, I will have to have blood plasma chemistry tested and a resting EKG while three random blood pressure measurements are taken. That is really the only requirement over here. The good news is my blood pressure is now perfect.

Thanks for the suggestion on the other medicine. I will have my Doctor look into it.

Habu:)

[Hew Jampton]

Habu
I admire you on your responsible attitude to flight safety by taking yourself off flying; it worries me that some people have a 'Got to keep the show on the road' attitude. I'm pleased to hear that the problem is under control. Good luck.

[Jepp]

Habu

Im a British private pilot and have been taking Atenelol for about two years with absolutaley NO side effects whatsoever.

They are fully approved by the UK CAA , and although Hew Jampton's post tells us that they can cause extreem side effects I am sure that it is very rare.

Since I have been taking them , I have l learned of others who are also on Atenelol and they too have no side effects !

Keep Flying

Regards

Jepp:)

[Hew Jampton]

Lest anybody be misled by Jepp's posting, the side effects of Atenolol are far from rare, as the paper in 'The Lancet' apparently makes clear ('The Lancet' is the/a learned British medical journal), and as was stated in other newspaper reports of the original 'Lancet' paper. Perhaps an AME would care to comment, but Atenolol is not unreservedly "fully approved by the UK CAA"; any medication for hypertension initially at least means no flying in case any side effects come to light. An initial dose to lower BP might well be quite strong, later on the maintenance dose might be lower and compatible with flying. Jepp says he is a PPL; Class Two certification criteria might well be lower than that for Class One holders like the original poster.

I'm not sure what the relevance of a PPL on a maintenance dose, who is fortunate enough not to experience the far from rare known serious side effects, is to the case of a professional pilot, seemingly on an initial dosage, who is experiencing these side effects, and has had the good sense to take him/herself off flying.

[Jepp]

Hew

I was simply answering Habu's questions.

Yes, I take Atenelol, and, No I dont have any side effects.

Also, there is no 'relaxation' by the CAA for medical certification if you do suffer side effects and are just a private pilot. what goes for a PPL goes for ATPL also.

As regard it being "unreservedly approved by the CAA" It either is approved or it isnt, and I can tell you that it IS approved.

The one thing I may have exagerated is that side effects are very rare , this I take back, and change to relatavely rare, Obviously, if one was to suffer side effects the only action is to change medication and to not fly until you have found the right one for you.

[Hew Jampton]

It either is approved or it isnt
It isn't.

UK CAA/JAA don't 'approve' very much, if anything, these days. JAR-FCL lists certain types of anti-hypertension medications as being "acceptable" (including some types of beta-blocker), the difference being more than semantics.

In the interests of flight safety, lest anyone take Jepp's blanket assertion that Atenolol is "CAA-approved", and take Atenolol without further reference, JAR-FCL states in relation to hypertension, "The initiation of drug therapy shall require a period of temporary suspension of the medical certificate to establish the absence of significant side effects."

As with all medical conditions and medications, check with your AME or aeromedical certification authority first.

[shifatur]

hey guys!

i have a pressure of 135/96.......am 19........would that be a major disqualification for my medical licenses? first class is what i need to be a commercial pilot........

shif

[Jepp]

shifatur

UK CAA limits for blood pressure are 140/95 for class 1 or 2, wether on medication or not.

I beleive FAA limits are the same.

Your bp should not really pose any problem.

Regards
Jepp

[Hew Jampton]

Jepp gets it wrong yet again. Try 160/95 for the JAA (that UK CAA follows). The last time I checked, the US FAA didn't publish a max figure but gave a "guideline" max of 155/95. When the FAA did use age bands for acceptable BP, for age 20-29 it was 140/88, with a slight cushion above these figures if heart, kidneys etc were OK. So, Shifatur, your figure might be a tad high, but again, the standard advice is to discuss it with an AME.

[Jepp]

Habu, Shifatur

I'm quitting this topic,
please direct all your questions to Hew Hypertension Jampton,

Regards

Jepp

[shifatur]

guys.........
here's the deal.....checked with local doc.........and was told that my bp could be attributed to the fact that bp runs in my family.......

i never.......neverrrrrrrrrrr............. feel dizzy, headache, overexcited or anything..............

u think a relaxin before class one medical would do fine? or they have ways to find that out? when i took one, it came down to 125/86........hows that?

lemme know........and take care........

[Hew Jampton]

shifatur
If you need to take a drug to get through the medical, are you going to take the same drug every time you fly? The idea is to be fit for flight, not just for the medical. You really should direct further questions to an AME or the Feds. Good luck.

[shifatur]

jampton buddy
thanks for the reply.......

i think i have been keeping u in the dark for a while now...........

see, i "do" have a high blood pressure., the averagebeing 135/96. but before i went to check with an A.M.E, i took a relaxin and that came down to 125/86, which is a pretty healthy bp to have.

now, as i told u earlier, i never ever feel dizzy, excited, over reactive when i am either working, talking to people or watching t.v, to tell u the truth. it beats me why i have such a high bp. then again, my dad has a very high bp and all the doctors i saw told me the same thing.......could well be hereditery.

i hope you have a better pic of my bp now..........anyways, would a relaxin be enough before a class 1 medical? :cool:

shif

[Whirlybird]

shifatur,

You could also try cutting down on salt in your diet, apparently it works wonders for some people. Also losing weight if you're overweight can help, or so they tell me. They do say high bp can be inherited though. But it's still unlikely at your age. You sound worried enough that I'd suspect White Coat Hypertension - not that I'm an expert. You may not know about it; I always thought I was quite relaxed at the doctor's, and so did everyone else. But my heart and blood vessels obviously knew better. I spent ten years worrying like you are now. Get a 24 hour reading!

[shifatur]

thanks captain whirly
i suppose u r right........must be white coat "supertension." well, i have an appointment with an a.m.e next week.......not worrying about it at all.......taking things easy.......would hafta dream about driving a nice 5 series beamer if asked to close eyes and relax when i go to him..........and yea, aspirin and relaxin would always be there.......:p yummy!!!

lets wait and see which way the cat jumps....................

take care

[Hew Jampton]

shifatur
Before I too quit on this topic, I will make a final comment to repeat that if you have to take a drug in order to pass a medical, without informing the AME, you are undoubtedly breaking the law and acting in a very irresponsible and unsafe manner. If this is how you intend to commence your aviation career, then God help your colleagues, passengers and everyone else who has to share airspace with you.

By the way, we tend to use grown up writing on this forum. Then again, you could be just a time-wasting wind-up merchant; either way, I quit.

[shifatur]

dear hampton.....
my sincere apologies about being "candid" in the forum........didnt see any notice conveying the message about being "formal" here, so, i didnt pay much heed to my english......and yea, also should have noticed that u r from the "u.k." sorry captain....not into formality......not me!

dont worry about my pessangers and my colleagues.......i have wanted to become a commercial pilot since i was six and killing pessangers is not a gain for me.......as for "overtaking" the usual way of consulting a doc, i wouldnt have done that anyway.......so, chill!

anyways.......i am out too.......sit back and enjoy the flight!

shifaur