Screening Echocardiography of Military Aircrew Candidates: Aeromedical Implications

<i>Objectives:</i> Cardiovascular evaluation has a significant aspect in the medical screening process of aircrew candidates. Echocardiography may identify asymptomatic cardiac abnormalities which can jeopardize the aviator and flight safety, as well as conditions which may progress and disqualify a trained aviator. We assessed the value of adding routine echocardiography to the aeromedical screening process. <i>Methods:</i> The study population consisted of 17- to 21-year-old healthy aircrew candidates. We retrospectively reviewed all routine echocardiographic studies performed during 1997–2008 at our clinic. Studies performed for a clinical indication were excluded. <i>Results:</i> A total of 2,657 echocardiographic studies were analyzed. 2,506 were considered ‘normal’ (94.3%). 151 studies (5.7%) demonstrated findings which required further consideration and were considered ‘abnormal’. Additional consideration included limitation to low-performance aircrafts (n = 22, 14.7%), prompt disqualification (n = 23, 15.3%), or further cardiovascular assessment (n = 106, 70% of ‘abnormal’ studies), which resulted in disqualification of 2 more candidates.