Providing an international process for a risk assessment after heart attack
Under implementation
Aviation L
Accident
21.6.2017
2017-S34
Suosituksen perustelu
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) spearheads the development of updated decision-making mechanisms for aviation medicine. Many sudden incapacitations result from cardiovascular diseases, both in general aviation and in commercial aviation. The prognosis of a heart attack is nowadays much more optimistic. The better prognosis is caused by new, modern cardiological treatments such as stenting in the acute phase of heart attack as well as the new, extremely effective cholesterol-lowering medications. For this reason, aeromedical examiners receive pilots coming for medical assessment that have had more than one heart attack. Fresh epidemiological findings provide information on the prognoses of treatments and new medications. This makes it possible to place pilots in risk categories as regards the risk of a possible recurring heart attack.
Recommendation
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) review the existing guidance material contained in the Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine to include a risk assessmentmodel to facilitate aero-medical decision-making in the evaluation of pilots at risk from
recurrent heart attacks.
Toimenpide-ehdotukset
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) spearheads the development of updated decision-making mechanisms for aviation medicine. Many sudden incapacitations result from cardiovascular diseases, both in general aviation and in commercial aviation. The prognosis of a heart attack is nowadays much more optimistic. The better prognosis is caused by new, modern cardiological treatments such as stenting in the acute phase of heart attack as well as the new, extremely effective cholesterol-lowering medications. For this reason, aeromedical examiners receive pilots coming for medical assessment that have had more than one heart attack. Fresh epidemiological findings provide information on the prognoses of treatments and new medications. This makes it possible to place pilots in risk categories as regards the risk of a possible recurring heart attack.