How Strong is Your Heart?

As we divers get older, we become more susceptible to DCS. And, if our health declines, not only does it endanger us, but it may also jeopardize those with whom we dive. A diver's endurance and cardiovascular health must be sufficient for stressful dives and emergencies.

A paper published in Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine asks, "What is the cardiovascular risk above which an asymptomatic diver should be considered unfit to dive? Currently, no formal or recommended upper limit of cardiovascular risk exists above which a diver is considered unfit to dive." The truth is, despite there being millions of recreational divers, there is limited data on diving fatalities and cardiovascular risk.

But we know that smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, excessive weight and other factors increase cardiovascular risk. In fact, cardiovascular disease is responsible for an estimated 25 percent of all diving fatalities, and the percentage could be higher. For example, the most common published cause of a diver's death is "drowning," but cardiovascular disease may have been a significant contributor.

A recent study of over 100,000 American divers revealed one-third of divers over 50 years old reported high cholesterol. About half were overweight, more than half were smokers, and a third reported hypertension or borderline hypertension. These factors increase a diver's risk, especially when diving against a current, kicking across the surface, or battling waves to get back on a boat. Furthermore, risk strongly depends upon age; as we age, risk increases.

Many problems that can affect your diving can be resolved with annual medical examinations and regular visits to the cardiologist.

If you have a problem that can't be resolved, you should know about it. Not only do you have a responsibility to yourself and your family, but also you have a responsibility to divers in the water with you. While an accident may ruin your vacation, it will also ruin it for every other diver who has to ride the boat back to port with you.

Ref: Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine. 2022 Third Quarter; 49(3):355-365