Echocardiographic and color flow Doppler findings in military pilot applicants

Abstract

This report details the findings of 1476 Canadian Forces pilot candidates screened with echocardiography and Doppler. All candidates had previously been medically screened at a recruiting center. We found 115 (7.8%) to have disqualifying findings. Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) was the most common (4.8%). Other abnormalities included aortic regurgitation (2.3%), bicuspid aortic valve (0.9%), left ventricular hypertrophy, asymmetric septal hypertrophy, and atrial septal defect (< 0.05%). Of the 71 candidates found to have mitral valve prolapse, 40 had positive clinical findings on careful auscultation. Echocardiography is a safe, cost-effective tool for screening candidates for military pilot training. Normative data on this population agree well with published norms.