Are they recruited into the army with an additional chord of the left ventricle?

Vasiliev Egor Lawyer, Assistance Service for Conscripts in St. Petersburg

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For conscripts suffering from cardiac pathology, a false chord in the heart and the army is a pressing issue. Illness seems like a good enough reason to defer or exempt one from conscription. Therefore, receiving a summons to dispatch may come as a surprise. But whether the military registration and enlistment office is wrong – we’ll look into this in this article.

Doesn't a false chord exempt you from military service?

– It cannot be said that false chord is a disease; it would be more correct to say that it is a minor anomaly in the development of the heart. It sometimes happens that during intrauterine development, one or several thread-like fibrous structures are formed, which are atypically attached to the walls, in most cases, of the left ventricle of the heart. That is, this is additional education, which ideally should not exist. Hence the name - additional or false chord.

? What could this be connected with, what is the cause of the anomaly?

– The proven fact of the formation of a false chord is heredity. If parents have similar growths, then with a high probability they will also be diagnosed in their children. Presumably, the occurrence of an anomaly can also be caused by factors such as adverse environmental influences, weak maternal immunity, unbalanced nutrition, smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy, infection of the fetus, and an unbalanced psycho-emotional state.

? How is a false chord diagnosed? Are there any external signs that can be used to determine that a child has extra fibers in the heart?

– There are no characteristic external symptoms. If there is only one anomaly (that is, one outgrowth and one notochord), then there is a high probability that it will not manifest itself in any way throughout life. Chords are classified into longitudinal, diagonal and transverse, depending on their location. Diagonal and longitudinal do not interfere with blood flow in the heart. But transverse chordae (mostly multiple) can sometimes complicate this process, which in adulthood in some cases can provoke heart rhythm disturbances.

Doctors' first suspicions about the presence of a false chord arise when systolic murmurs are detected when listening to the heart. In most cases, this is detected within a period of up to three years. If murmurs are detected, the pediatrician prescribes a consultation with a cardiologist, ECG, and ultrasound examination. If there is a need (some abnormalities, for example, according to the results of an ECG or ultrasound), stress tests and Holter ECG monitoring are also prescribed. Stress tests are a study of the cardiovascular system’s response to (physical) stress, and Holter monitoring is when the work of the heart is recorded during the day using special portable devices.

? Does the abnormality require treatment?

– False chord of the left ventricle in a child is almost always safe and does not require specific treatment.

? Is physical activity contraindicated for this diagnosis? Are there any restrictions or recommendations?

– There is no need to exclude physical activity, as it helps improve health, but it is very important to distribute it correctly. For example, it is not advisable to engage in weightlifting or boxing. Physical therapy classes are encouraged. It is also necessary to provide a complete, balanced diet with a maximum content of vitamins and minerals. In addition, it is important to maintain a calm and balanced psycho-emotional state.

? Is the presence of a false chord in the heart an indication for exemption from military service?

– It all depends on the results of the medical study. If a cardiologist, after conducting a series of diagnostics, concludes that the anomaly is not accompanied by disturbances in heart rhythm and does not limit the functionality of the organ, then a false chord of the left ventricle in itself does not exempt one from performing military duty. And there is nothing to be afraid of.

Irina Marchenko. © Photo: Publishing House “Volgogradskaya Pravda” / archive.

Additional chord and army

It is impossible to say unambiguously whether the actions of the military commissariat sending a conscript diagnosed with “false chords of the left ventricle” to the army are legal. Sometimes such a call is unlawful, but more often the law is on the side of the state structure. The fact is that pathology rarely seriously affects the functioning of the heart and the entire human body.

The chord in the heart is the tissue that connects the walls of the left or right ventricles. When the organ contracts, these muscle connections do not allow the heart valves to bend and let blood back in, i.e. prevents regurgitation - reverse blood flow.

With an abnormal structure of the heart, additional chords are formed in the cavity of the left or right ventricles. Doctors say the main reason for their appearance is hereditary factors, the environment, as well as stress or bad habits of the mother during pregnancy.

Symptoms of the disease are often mild or do not appear throughout life. For this reason, the patient learns about the presence of formations by chance - during a routine examination or auscultation - listening to heart sounds, including murmurs.

Pathology in rare cases is accompanied by complications. The patient goes to a hospital or clinic with complaints of noises in the chest (most pronounced during coughing), pain in the left half of the chest, weakness, interruptions in heart rate and lack of air when breathing. Additional formations can also cause arrhythmia - disturbances in heartbeat rhythms. In this situation, the disease can be diagnosed by the following signs:

headaches, dizziness;
loss of consciousness;
chest pain;
interruptions in heart rhythm: the heartbeat slows down or increases in speed.

Additional chord in the heart - what is it?

Congenital pathology is diagnosed in most cases in children, but can be detected in adulthood. To understand whether the pathology is dangerous, you need to understand the structure of the heart and the functioning of each department. So, the heart consists of 4 chambers - left, right atrium, left, right ventricle. During normal functioning of the organ, blood moves into the ventricles through muscle contraction. The valves close, blood remains in the ventricle. In order for the valves to remain functional and elastic, they are supported by tendon threads on the side of the ventricles, which are otherwise called chords. These threads regulate the flow of blood into the ventricle and prevent backflow.

In some cases, for unexplained reasons, the fetus in the womb develops one or more additional chords in the ventricle. In fact, the auxiliary thread does not affect the functioning of the heart; on the contrary, it improves the functioning of the valves, therefore the pathology is classified as mild cardiac anomalies.

Depending on the location of the chord in the ventricle, diagonal, longitudinal, and transverse are distinguished. The latter are rare, but entail serious consequences, impaired cardiac function, and require surgical intervention. Longitudinal and diagonal do not interfere with blood flow, do not affect the functionality of the heart, and therefore do not require any treatment.

The main reason for the development of anomalies in the womb is called a hereditary factor, as well as the adverse effects of the environment, bad habits of the mother during gestation, especially in the first trimester, when tissues are formed.

Symptoms of the accessory chord may not appear until the end of life. Often a person learns about their existence during routine diagnostics.

But in some cases, additional threads in the left ventricle lead to negative symptoms:

weakness;
pain in the heart area;
fatigue;
constant weakness;
psycho-emotional tension;
vegetative-vascular dystonia;
dizziness;
dyspnea;
heart rhythm disturbance;
noise when listening.

Unpleasant symptoms especially often appear in adolescence, then disappear, but can accompany a man throughout his life.

Additional chord: is it taken into the army?

There is no article in the Schedule of Diseases indicating the fitness category for conscripts with chordae in the heart. Therefore, the likelihood of sending a citizen to a military unit depends on the clinical picture, the degree of dysfunction of the organ and concomitant diseases.

It is safe to say that with an additional chord, conscripts are recruited into the army, whose formation is represented by a single muscle thread. Members of the military medical commission believe that one extra chord in the heart in the army will not affect the well-being of a conscript during a year of army life.

Wait, where are you going? I am a soldier!

Diagnosis in the outpatient card: “additional chord in the left ventricle”

Are you a young guy, full of energy and strength, dreaming of serving in the army? But bad luck, you were taken aback by the diagnosis in the outpatient card: “additional chord in the left ventricle.” Will your dreams of service remain unfulfilled?

You have a negative attitude towards the army and are trying with all your might to evade your duty to the Motherland, and now a false chord in your heart has given you hope that the army is not your “topic”?

In 98% of cases, the answer from the military registration and enlistment office to both the first and second conscripts will be the same: Passed! And all because the false chord itself is, for the most part, hemodynamically insignificant: the heart, if present, works normally, all indicators of the cardiovascular system are within normal limits, there are usually no symptoms or complaints with a false chord, especially if speech refers to a single additional chord.

When this heart anomaly is detected, all conscripts undergo a thorough examination of the cardiovascular system using laboratory and instrumental methods, and if, at the end of the examination, no other heart pathology is detected, hemodynamics are not impaired and the left ventricular chord remains the only controversial point regarding the heart. You can definitely take a conscript into the army.

Do they take into the army with an additional chord?

Strong, healthy, self-confident men are the pride of our country, our army. The army turns a slender teenager, a “mama’s boy,” into a real man.

Have you noticed that some guys go into the army as thin, stooped teenagers, and after a year or two they return stronger not only in body, but also in spirit. Regime and physical activity strengthen the male body. But not everyone is ready to go through this school of life. Some guys, due to existing diseases, and some, simply put, “mow” - invent a non-existent pathology. Let's talk today about such a diagnosis as an accessory chord of the left ventricle. What kind of pathology is this? Serious illness or the possibility of being excused from service? Do they join the army with an extra chord in their heart?

Reviews

Dear readers, was this article helpful? What do you think about the additional chord of the left ventricle and service in the Russian army. Leave feedback in the comments! Your opinion is important to us!

Oleg

“I learned about the additional chord at the age of 16. Since childhood, I was accustomed to sports and physical activity. I didn’t experience any discomfort, no health problems. I joined the army along with everyone else, no difficulties arose.”

Denis

“I discovered an additional chord in my teens. I could not perform physical exercises in physical education, shortness of breath appeared, it was difficult to breathe, my heart was pounding. Doctors limited the load, did not prescribe any treatment, they said it was not fatal, not dangerous. With age, the condition only worsened. At the military registration and enlistment office it was very difficult to prove the seriousness of the pathology; they pulled up all the medical records and carried out a bunch of examinations.”

Candy babies

08/30/2019 admin Comments No comments

Young people and their parents often wonder if they are being drafted into the army with grade 1 mitral valve prolapse. This pathology is one of the types of congenital heart defects. Doctors distinguish several degrees of the disease, each of which has its own characteristics of the course. Mitral valve prolapse and the army are not always compatible, so a special commission resolves this issue during diagnostic procedures for future military personnel.

Description of the disease

Among all heart ailments, mitral valve prolapse is the most common, which can be a contraindication for military service.
The disease is a disruption in the functioning of the main organ, which looks like this: blood is ejected by the left atrium, for which this area is compressed, during this period the valve flaps open, through them blood flows into the area of the left ventricle. Afterwards, the valves close, and the contractile activity of the ventricles moves the blood further. If mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is diagnosed, then this process changes. Part of the blood returns to the atrium during contraction of the ventricles, since the deflection (prolapse) does not allow the valves to close correctly and tightly. Therefore, a backflow of some part of the blood or regurgitation occurs, which causes the development of mitral regurgitation.

There are many reasons that provoke the development of such a deviation. Although people often do not know that they have this disease, when it is considered primary and is not accompanied by symptoms, doctors can detect it during examination. Usually, with this disease, doctors talk about a positive prognosis, which determines suitability for military service. However, the risk still exists, so it is necessary to understand each individual case. The danger of this pathology lies in the possibility of complications that are already deadly.

Prolapse of the mitral valve, its anterior leaflet, is of two types: with and without the presence of regurgitation. If the pathology is accompanied by large-volume regurgitation, then the patient’s condition is alarming and sometimes requires immediate surgical assistance. Such a diagnosis can be made by a doctor when examining a patient, listening to the work of his heart and identifying complaints. Usually the pathology is not accompanied by noise in the organ, so additional examination methods are necessary to clarify its presence.

Diagnostics at the military registration and enlistment office

A heart disorder alarms doctors at the military registration and enlistment office, and they approach the examination procedure with all seriousness. Mitral valve prolapse has always been considered an ailment that can lead to serious consequences, so whether to enlist in the army is decided by a commission of doctors.

Every young man must undergo a medical examination before being drafted into military service. The list of specialists always includes a cardiologist, from which we can conclude that any abnormality in the heart will definitely be detected. If a violation of the functioning of an organ, its structure or hemodynamics is suspected, a number of diagnostic measures are prescribed. All doctor's reports must be retained to show the military medical commission. Despite the results of the examination, the military registration and enlistment office will carry out its own procedures to confirm or deny such a disease.

What is included in the complex:

ECG;
Ultrasound examination of the heart;
chest x-ray;
listening to the work of the organ through a phonendoscope;
examining the guy and studying the symptoms of the disease.

If, after all the measures have been taken, the diagnosis is still confirmed, and grade 1 mitral valve prolapse is indeed recorded in the young man, then he will go into the army. The military way of life and the stress that will be given to the young man will not harm his health in any way.

In the document compiled by the doctors of the military commission, there is a section on the fitness of the young man, where there is no column about the condition of the heart valves. However, there is a part to fill that characterizes the valves of the organ. If we are talking about regurgitation, then the 1st degree of this deviation is almost never a reason for recognizing unfitness for service, but there are always exceptions to the rules.

Among other things, there is such a pathology as heart failure, which often accompanies grade 3 or 4 prolapse. This disease is also considered a contraindication for military service. Often it occurs in conjunction with other disorders and illnesses, which can become the basis for declaring a guy unfit for military duty.

Features of suitability at 1st degree

The decision to enlist in the armed forces depends not only on the stage of the disease; additional factors are taken into account.

serious heart rhythm disturbances;

study of the total amount of blood return;
determining how much the main organ has changed;
calculation of the impact of heavy physical activity on the body.

Sometimes it happens that the pathology is revealed only at a medical commission already at the time of conscription, then the parents of the young man or he himself have the right to carry out additional diagnostic measures, during which the military registration and enlistment office is obliged to provide a deferment.

Whether someone with mitral valve prolapse is accepted into the army depends entirely on the severity of the pathology. If we are talking about stage 1, then we can say with 99% confidence that the guy will serve. It is also possible to sign a contract for further extension of service, especially if the person feels fine. Pathology of the 2nd and 3rd degrees is almost always a reason to go into reserve. One of the main pieces of advice is not to try to pretend when passing a medical examination at the military registration and enlistment office, otherwise such violations will be identified, and everything will end badly for the conscript.

Physical activity, which is necessarily present in the army, frightens all patients. But you shouldn’t worry about this, since sports are necessary for everyone without exception. The heart muscle is well strengthened during such training, especially when swimming, running, walking, skiing or skating, and performing physical exercises. Only serious loads are contraindicated, such as heavy lifting, strength and other exercises associated with lifting heavy weights. In any case, it is necessary to consult a doctor about classes.

How to examine conscripts with an additional chord

Carrying out echocardiography

This cardiac anomaly is detected only by echocardiography. Also, mandatory research methods in the presence of a chord are: ECG, ECG with Holter monitoring, bicycle ergometry. If, based on the results of all studies, no heart problems are detected, the conscript is sent to serve. But rarely there can be heart problems.