A driver I know was recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He said his ejection fraction was down to 32% and his company said it needs to be up to 40% to drive. He's young, and hopefully the rehab will get him healthy enough to drive again. Is the 40% for all companies or does it vary from one to another? I looked through the fed regs and couldn't find a specific requirement for ejection fraction. Although I did see the part about an ICD being an auto disqualifier.
Thanks.
Ejection fraction needed to drive
Discussion in 'Driver Health' started by jat, Jan 7, 2011.
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Measure view · talk · edit Typical value Normal range
end-diastolic volume (EDV) 120 ml[42] 65- - 240 ml[42]
end-systolic volume (ESV) 50 ml[42] 16 - -143 ml[42]
stroke volume (SV) 70 ml 55 - 100 ml
ejection fraction (Ef) 58% 55 to 70%[43]
heart rate (HR) 72 bpm
cardiac output (CO) 4.9 L/minute 4.0 - 8.0 L/min[44]
so "it could be" the company that wants at least 40% as per THEIR doctor....
i will try looking for some more information for you and will get back to this when i can....
ok, after continued searching, i may have found it, and from that same website, which i will provide a link to:
so, it looks like the 40% the company told him...???
here is the site:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/medical/faqs.aspx?#question31Last edited: Jan 8, 2011
25(2)+2 Thanks this. -
That's interesting.
A co-worker and friend was diagnosed with CHF about 2 years ago; he was young - 38 at the time, and was diagnosed with a pericardial effusion which was said to have originated from a virus.
His heart was unable to recover to normal functionality (ejection/injection fraction) through rehab, and he had a pace maker installed a year later; he continued to have relapses of CHF.
As of December 1st, he was put on the heart transplant list.
I know this post doesnt answer your question, but found it a sad coincidence that two young men suffered from CHF, and especially scary that a virus was fingered as the cause of a "snow balling" decline of health effect, resulting in a heart transplant for my friend.
Good luck, God bless and speedy recovery to your friend.rookietrucker Thanks this. -
A virus in the Pericardium (sack that the heart sits inside and filled with fluid) can cause lots of damage. Especially since it is hard to treat and most often misdiagnosed by many doctors. It is also very painful or can be.
U4EA Thanks this. -
His primary care physician, despite knowing his history of CHF, continued to write his symptoms off as "allergies" until he went to the ER. -
U4EA Thanks this.
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With the rate of malpractice lawsuits so high you'd think they be a bit more concerned; granted, I'm well aware many symptoms are present in 1000 different conditions, with the majority being harmless, but still...
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