I like to listen to podcasts when I go walking and recently I’ve been educating myself about AFib and other arrhythmias. Knowledge is power so I figure the more I know, the more in control of my health I can be.
I love traveling and I have seen a lot of questions in this forum about flying with AFib or other medical conditions. I found this two part podcast fascinating. It is not solely about arrhythmias but they do get a mention. The speaker is the Medical Director from Qantas (previously worked for Emirates) and although the presentation was delivered at a medical conference to doctors, it’s not overly technical. It gives great insights into medical emergencies on planes and the on ground support given. I did not know that there is a major medical control centre in Phoenix Arizona that supports global airlines - did you?
It is so important for us to understand our bodies and triggers especially when away from home. Medical diversions are very costly. In the discussion about whether EGCs should be added to the onboard medical kit, he says that around 50% of diversions for chest pains are either not cardiac related or are benign arrhythmias. I have a friend who is a senior cabin crew member at Qantas so asked whether they now have ECGs. They still don’t.
Thanks Kaz, interesting. It happened to us (well, my husband) while we were flying to New Zealand via Hong Kong about nine years ago. Most passengers were asleep when there was a scream and a desperate plea for a doctor. I nudged my husband and told him the moment he'd been dreading had come! A man further up the plane had gone into a sudden stupor. My husband ran a few checks (not much you can do without even a stethoscope!) and was pretty sure the poor chap had had a TIA. He kept a close eye on him and the old gentleman was taken to hospital when we arrived in Hong Kong. Husband was a bit of a hero during that flight!
They were saying in the podcast that a stethoscope is quite useless in the air because of the engine noise but they have in the kit because it’s useable on the ground.
Good on your husband for volunteering to help out. Twice I’ve been in a plane where they have called for medical assistance. Once was a short flight and no problem but the other was a flight from Perth to Sydney and we were diverted to Adelaide.
It would be relatively easy to include a phone and Kardia in a plane. OK maybe not as good as a 12 lead ECG but you can send the results for analysis and cardiologists seem to find the results acceptable. It seems like a no brainer: fast and doesn't need a load of skill to use it.
I wondered about a Kardia but wasn’t sure about the movement of the plane or electrical interference. I’d be interested to know if anyone has used their Kardia in the air.
I did know about the Phoenix Centre - it was featured on one of those fly on the wall documentaries - have book marked your podcast to listen to on a douvet day.
Listened to this while walking the dog this morning. The subject interests me, particularly because my heart problems first raised their head on a flight from Portugal to Belfast.
In those days I took trips on cheap flights, walked for a few days and then came home. I covered many miles in most European countries and arrived home refreshed and fit.
Early flight on EasyJet, feeling fine, then suddenly a very strange sensation came over me. I attracted a stewardess who took me to the back of the plane, by this time semi-conscious, and a few of them administered oxygen. Through a haze I could hear them repeating the pilot’s intention to divert to France, and was horrified. I insisted that I was ok and they led me back to my seat for landing.
On arrival at Belfast they insisted that I needed someone to collect me as I had already explained that my car was in the car park.
I phoned home, dreading having to bring two people to the airport, and explained that I hah had some sort of turn and that diversion had been suggested.
“How long until you’re home? Do hurry up, I’m starving. I haven’t had a decent meal since you left.”
To be fair, I drove home with the window down an he was absolutely mortified when he saw me. 😱
You drove home after being unwell, semi conscious, requiring oxygen teatment. You have the right to make decisions wise and unwise about your health. Do you have the right to put the lives of other car drivers and their passengers at risk should your condition have worsened whilst you were driving home?
MtLSteven , the same could be said for any person, any day, on any road. I prefer the glass half full attitude to life, personally, whereas you obviously lean towards a negative approach. You probably won’t live any longer, but it’ll seem like it. 😂
I'm not sure that a 12 Lead ECG machine would be particularly helpful as there would need to be an experienced healthcare professional on the aircraft capable of taking an accurate tracing and more importantly interpreting the results.
I do think it should be mandatory that all airlines carry an Automated External Fibrillator (AED) as these can be used completely safely by an untrained member of the public.
I know they have defibrillators on Qantas flights but like my friend who works for them said “by that stage everything has already turned to shit for the passenger”.
It was comforting to hear that in analysis they found 85% of the time there was a doctor on a flight and on the A380 it’s closer to 100%. Not sure the stats would be the same on budget airlines. Sometimes it’s worth paying a bit more for full service airlines 😉
A friend of ours was returning from a medical conference in USA with 5 colleagues when a passenger had a heart attack. Imagine their surprise when 6 doctors answered the call - 2 were cardiologists. He survived! Now that’s what I call lucky 😂
Lucky indeed. Like a colleague of mine whose partner was a neurosurgeon and they were in Singapore at a cocktail party at a neurosurgeon’s conference when she collapsed (I think it was a brain aneurysm). She was very lucky too.
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An interesting comment by a doctor on the site Zipdoctor
Im having a cardio ablation on October 24th 
