Blood Pressure
What is the effect on driver certification based on FMCSA hypertension stages?
A driver with a diagnosis of hypertension on treatment should have at least an annual certification.
A CMV driver with a Blood pressure (BP) 140/90 may be certified for 2 years.
First time BP elevated:
Stage 1 - BP 140-159/90-99 Certification Period 1 year
Stage 2 - BP 160-179/100-109 Certification Period 3 months as one time certification. Within the 3 months, if the blood pressure is below 140/90, the driver may receive 1 year certification.
Stage 3 - BP Reading >180/110 Disqualified. When the blood pressure is less than 140/90, the driver can be certified at 6 month intervals.
What if I’m on blood pressure medication?
Taking blood pressure medications will reduce your DOT medical card to one year if your blood pressure is under 140/90.
Why are the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension important?
These criteria are important because there is strong prospective, randomized clinical-trial evidence that hypertension markedly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and that effective treatment reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. To be certified to drive, the driver should have ongoing hypertension management and be free of side effects that may impair safe driving. -FMCSA
What if I have “white coat syndrome”.
We will take multiple readings and try to make you feel relaxed as possible.