Cardiovascular Complaints Among Military Members During Operation Enduring Freedom.

During Operation Enduring Freedom, the US military began deploying a dedicated theater cardiology consultant to Afghanistan in an effort to increase rates of return to duty in service members with cardiovascular complaints. This study was designed to categorize these complaints and determine the effect on both aeromedical evacuation and return to duty rates during a 2.5 year observation period. A total of 1,495 service members were evaluated, with 43% presenting due to chest pain followed by arrhythmias/palpitations (24.5%) and syncope (13.5%). Eighty-five percent of individuals returned to duty, most commonly with complaints of noncardiac chest pain, palpitations, or abnormal electrocardiograms. Fifteen percent were evacuated out of theater, most often with acute coronary syndrome, pulmonary embolus, or ventricular tachycardia. The forward-deployed theater cardiology consultant is vital in the disposition of military members by effectively parsing out life threatening cardiovascular conditions versus low risk diagnoses that can safely return to duty.