Heart Murmur

fish678

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Joined
Nov 9, 2018
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19
I have had a heart murmur for a long time and when I was born I had a VSD (a hole in my heart). The hole didn't close on it's own so it had to be surgically patched. Everything turned out fine and I check up with a cardiologist every two years. It hasn't limited my physical abilities and slowed me down. I am a freshman soon to be Sophomore. Will this automatically disqualify me. (I know I have about two years until I apply).
 
@fish678, I’m pasting below a response I gave this morning to a similar question. Here it is:

That is a very complex and sensitive question that no one here -- no one! -- can answer with any degree of accuracy. Sure, someone might be able to provide a personal anecdote, but that will have zero bearing on your situation.

Assume that you're OK until DODMERB tells you otherwise. Besides that, what can you do? If someone here says, "yes, you'll be totally disqualified," would you really act on that anonymous comment and end your quest? Hmmm...

Best advice I've seen here re DODMERB is, "don't self-diagnose." So in that same vein, don't let a perfect stranger diagnose for you.
 
Last edited:
@fish678, I’m pasting below a response I gave this morning to a similar question. Here’s it is:

That is a very complex and sensitive question that no one here -- no one! -- can answer with any degree of accuracy. Sure, someone might be able to provide a personal anecdote, but that will have zero bearing on your situation.

Assume that you're OK until DODMERB tells you otherwise. Besides that, what can you do? If someone here says, "yes, you'll be totally disqualified," would you really act on that anonymous comment and end your quest? Hmmm...

Best advice I've seen here re DODMERB is, "don't self-diagnose." So in that same vein, don't let a perfect stranger diagnose for you.
I would also recommend you get your application and requirements submitted just as soon as possible when you are eligible to apply for the academies/ROTC Scholarships. The sooner you get that done, the sooner DODMERB is ordered. You will certainly have remedials required to submit documents and have additional testing done. Our daughter had a heart murmur and it was quite a long process to get her cleared, so the more time you have, the better. This advice holds true for anybody with any remote health/injury issue.
 
I have had a heart murmur for a long time and when I was born I had a VSD (a hole in my heart). The hole didn't close on it's own so it had to be surgically patched. Everything turned out fine and I check up with a cardiologist every two years. It hasn't limited my physical abilities and slowed me down. I am a freshman soon to be Sophomore. Will this automatically disqualify me. (I know I have about two years until I apply).

You should be fine (either be cleared at the DODMERB level or get a waiver at the service level) so long as you don't have any symptoms associated with a VSD (eg shortness of breath, heart murmur, etc...) and have an recent normal echocardiogram.

Have all the records (to include the procedure note) from the cardiologist in your possession. I'm sure DODMERB will want them.

You will want an echocardiogram within the past 12 months of getting your DODMERB exam. I'd get it the month before your DODMERB exam because if it does go through the waiver process (these can go long), then the echo will still be considered "recent."

A one-page summary memo from your cardiologist will be helpful, but won't substitute for providing the actual notes over the past several years.
 
You should be fine (either be cleared at the DODMERB level or get a waiver at the service level) so long as you don't have any symptoms associated with a VSD (eg shortness of breath, heart murmur, etc...) and have an recent normal echocardiogram.

Have all the records (to include the procedure note) from the cardiologist in your possession. I'm sure DODMERB will want them.

You will want an echocardiogram within the past 12 months of getting your DODMERB exam. I'd get it the month before your DODMERB exam because if it does go through the waiver process (these can go long), then the echo will still be considered "recent."

A one-page summary memo from your cardiologist will be helpful, but won't substitute for providing the actual notes over the past several years.

One would think but a small, asymptomatic VSD (which has actually subsequently closed) is why I’m a Naval Physician and not an Air Force Academy grad doing something completely different.

Didn’t think so back then but I’m certainly glad things worked the way they did!
 
You should be fine (either be cleared at the DODMERB level or get a waiver at the service level) so long as you don't have any symptoms associated with a VSD (eg shortness of breath, heart murmur, etc...) and have an recent normal echocardiogram.

Have all the records (to include the procedure note) from the cardiologist in your possession. I'm sure DODMERB will want them.

You will want an echocardiogram within the past 12 months of getting your DODMERB exam. I'd get it the month before your DODMERB exam because if it does go through the waiver process (these can go long), then the echo will still be considered "recent."

A one-page summary memo from your cardiologist will be helpful, but won't substitute for providing the actual notes over the past several years.

One would think but a small, asymptomatic VSD (which has actually subsequently closed) is why I’m a Naval Physician and not an Air Force Academy grad doing something completely different.

Didn’t think so back then but I’m certainly glad things worked the way they did!

Funny how life works and we end up where we are supposed too! Congrats on being a successful navy physician and officer!
 
I have had a heart murmur for a long time and when I was born I had a VSD (a hole in my heart). The hole didn't close on it's own so it had to be surgically patched. Everything turned out fine and I check up with a cardiologist every two years. It hasn't limited my physical abilities and slowed me down. I am a freshman soon to be Sophomore. Will this automatically disqualify me. (I know I have about two years until I apply).
This is something I can answer. I’m USMA class of 2023 and I have a congenital heart murmur as well. I was initially medically disqualified and but was given the chance to see my own cardiologist. Like you, the murmur didn’t hold me back physically, and my doctor used my athletic record from school to prove that. In the end, I didn’t even need a waiver and was qualified on my own. You may be dq’ed to begin with, but keep pushing. Try to get an LOA and an LOE — I had both, which is why I got to see my own cardiologist. Overall, when I visited I was told by a cadet with terrible asthma that there is nothing that can’t be given a waiver except for concussions. You got this!
 
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