Posted on May 16, 2019
Group Pushes Military to Give EKGs Before Boot Camp to Stop Sudden Cardiac Deaths
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I'm even a little surprised that the MEPS system has not made this part of their screenings by now.
Group Pushes Military to Give EKGs Before Boot Camp to Stop Sudden Cardiac Deaths
Posted from military.comPosted in these groups: 
Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS)
Medical
Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) Medical
Posted >1 y ago
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MSG (Join to see)
Right? This totally reminds me of a time when I was at FT Sam some years ago. There was this kid in AIT and he had failed an APFT so he was unable to get an off post pass. So, during a re-take, he ran his ass off to pass the run. That being said, right before taking the APFT, he informed his cadre that he wasn't feeling all that well but felt he could still take it. He really wanted that off post pass. Upon completing the run, he walked off, saying he was light headed. He ended up passing away due to an underlying and undiagnosed cardiac condition. He was 19.
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I posted before that in this age group screening is expensive and not cost effective. EGKs might not detect ischemia if the heart isn’t stressed. EKGs don’t always pick up ischemia. Then you get false positives. I had a false positive on a treadmill stress test, ST Depression in inferior leads. Detecting dangerous problems can be subtle. Had a healthy, physically active young person come in with some minor EKG changes. Sent the person to cardiology. Turns out the individual had an aortic root aneurysm. Not sure how well your average MEPS reads EKGs.
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LTC David Brown
MAJ (Join to see) - indeed. I am not sure what the death rate is among recruits but I am fairly sure it is very low.
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Sad but they could have died running the local 5k or playing sports in HS or college. How about having your kids checked during high school?
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