Hi,
This is my 1st post here so just let me say hello to everyone.
I have a slight problem which I would welcome your feedback:
In December last year I had a heart attack & this was followed with angioplasty.
Now as I love driving so much the plan now was to apply for my class c lgv & take the necessary tests etc.
Is there any point to this as the 1st thing is the medical before I can even apply for the provisional licence.
Are DVLA likely to turn me down due to my recent health issues & if so would I be better to cancel the medical with my doctor, save myself the £50 fee & forget this whole stupid idea?
Also what would happen in the future lets say if I needed another angioplasty?
I did tell DVLA about my heart attack & they said back in December to keep my car licence & not to send it back to them; however I couldn’t drive for 6 weeks - after this could go back to driving as normal.
See, I told you I was being mad…
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this post.
I know of at least 3 people who have had heart attacks and are back driving trucks/buses again after passing a medical assessment.
I’m not sure how it would work for a new applicant though as these people already had the qualification.
I knew a fella who’d had a Stent fitted, basically a new pipe & he got his licence back after a short period.
Best thing to do first would be to contact the DVLA on the phone & explain everything, worst they can say is no, or they could offer sensible advice .
I phoned DVLA this morning & they said I would have to go for a ‘ECG treadmill test’ whatever that is?
If I can pass that I can get the provisional licence, so @ least they have not said NO WAY!
They put you on a treadmill, wired up to monitors, then get you to walk/run nowhere for an hour or 2 (exaggeration)
So it’s your best interest to keep/get fit.
Hav’nt you noticed that 99% of us drivers are Mean Lean Fighting Machines & the other 1% are Pot Bellied Pie Eating Machines ?
Oops, think I got that the wrong way round !
The treadmill test is 9 minutes long 3 mins at a stroll 3 mins at a fair pace then 3 mins at a fast pace to get the heart going.
Last one I did the last 3 mins was more or less at a run and that was last year.
I had a treadmill test several years ago. There was some formula where they measure your resting pulse, and that tells them the highest pulse rate they can push you to.
You then do the treadmill and, in my case, they gradually inclined it to serve the purpose of gently stressing the heart and getting my pulse rate up. Once it got to the maximum permitted by the formula the test was stopped. I could have continued, but they got what they needed so there was no need.
