Structure-function indices of echocardiography in civil aviation pilots of senior age groups

Echocardiography is an important method for non-invasive evaluation of the structural and functional indicators of the cardiovascular system, which is valuable in early detection of the cardiovascular pathology, especially in older people, because, the prevalence of the most cardiovascular diseases significantly increases with age.

Material and methods. 1189 civil aviation pilots aged 54–68 years who underwent routine in-patient examination at the Central Clinical Hospital of Civil Aviation on a regular basis were examined with further medical assessment at the Central Medical Flight Expert Commission of Civil Aviation of the Russian Federation in 2009–2010. The average age was 56.75 ± 0.07. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed in 1170 flight personnel (98.4%) for evaluation of the structural and functional indicators of the cardiovascular system.

Results. Echocardiography abnormalities were detected in 95.7% of pilots of the senior age group, 14.1% of these changes were in mixt form. Signs of atherosclerosis of the thoracic aorta were most common — 94% of cases. Left ventricle diastolic dysfunction of type I was noted in 60.3% of pilots. Structural and/or functional changes of the heart valves were noted in 18.2% of the subjects, most of them were localized in the aortic valves: 16% of cases. Dilation of the heart chambers were detected in 4.8% of the examined. LVH was found in 1% of pilots of the senior age group, and signs of LV concentric remodeling — in 60.7% of individuals. The decrease in LV myocardial contractility was detected only in one pilot with EF 53%. Small heart abnormalities were identified only in 0.6% of cases.

Conclusions. Echocardiography abnormalities are quite common in pilots of the senior age group, however, «gross» echocardiographic changes are much less common than in the population, which is natural, because these individuals undergo initial medical screening and subsequent follow-up. The use of this method for screening in civil aviation pilots of senior age groups is reasonable, because the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in this group is increasing.

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