Response to The Straits Times Forum Letter on "Beef up NS medical checks"

National servicemen undergo rigorous cardiac screening

We thank Mr Ang Chin Guan for his forum letter on 11 June 2012, " Beef up NS medical checks ", and his concern for all National Servicemen.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has a robust and systematic cardiac screening protocol. The protocol starts with the screening for cardiovascular risk factors (such as smoking and a family history of heart diseases), followed by a clinical examination by a doctor and routine resting electrocardiogram for all servicemen. If required, a serviceman will be referred to a cardiologist for specialist opinion and additional cardiac assessments, such as exercise treadmill tests, echocardiography, Computer Tomography calcium scoring and other cardiac imaging studies.

The SAF cardiac screening protocol is a key component of the baseline medical screening panel for pre-enlistment medical screening, as well as for active and operationally ready national servicemen prior to physically strenuous activities such as the Individual Physical Proficiency Test and other military training for various age groups.

The current SAF cardiac screening protocol was jointly formulated with the SAF Cardiac Screening Advisory Panel, which comprises leading senior cardiologists from public healthcare institutions. The protocol is supported by evidence-based medical best practices and benchmarked against internationally recognised clinical standards, and is specifically tailored to address cardiac screening for a military population. While there are no screening tests that can fully prevent every instance of sudden cardiac events, the SAF will continue to do its utmost to reduce the risk of such incidents.

The SAF is committed to safeguarding the health of our servicemen. We will continue to review and enhance medical screenings based on clinical best practices to keep our servicemen fit and healthy.

Colonel (Dr) Kang Wee Lee
Chief of Medical Corps
Singapore Armed Forces

and

Associate Professor Terrance Chua,
Chairman SAF Cardiology Specialist Advisory Board
and Deputy Medical Director and Senior Consultant National Heart Centre

MINDEF's reply was published as "National servicemen undergo rigorous cardiac screening", The Straits Times, 15 Jun 12