Cat 1 Medical - Blood Pressure

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avcraig
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Cat 1 Medical - Blood Pressure

Post by avcraig »

Good afternoon,

I had my BP taken as part of the vision, height/weight, etc. check before the actual aviation part of my Cat 1 medical yesterday. Now that I've started pursuing my CPL I know how important having a Cat 1 medical is. The machine for my blood pressure read 150 which is when the assistant said "that's a little high, let's try that again. Are you nervous?", to which I replied "Not really, I don't think so". The second time around it went down to 134. I've just never really liked the BP machine on my arm so I admit I was a bit nervous, didn't help that there was a bunch of other nosy assistants standing around me watching the whole thing because of a lack of work to do in the office. This was my second Cat 1 medical exam.

I ended up doing and passed the rest of the Cat 1 medical with the examiner and she took my blood pressure once again mid conversation while I was relaxed and "busy talking" and it went right down to 90. The examiner then said "yeah that's much better, it usually goes down to the normal category when you're not all tensed up and nervous". I'm guessing this is why she did it mid conversation knowing I would have relaxed to my normal self by then. We have known each other for a long time ever since I got my Cat 3 for my PPL.

Is this normal and has anybody had similar experiences? I know commercial pilots can fly with high blood pressure but only with certain approved medications. What about separate medical exams that are done by airlines when it comes time to get hired? I ask in case I do develop high blood pressure in the future now that I've had a bad experience.

Thanks.
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GoinVertical
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Re: Cat 1 Medical - Blood Pressure

Post by GoinVertical »

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ayseven
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Re: Cat 1 Medical - Blood Pressure

Post by ayseven »

How high is your blood pressure going to be when you have your first engine failure? The nastiest check ride examiner or doctor visit is nothing compared to that "attention getting" event. This is the real question.
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