Citation

Bove AA. Undersea Hyperb. Med. 2011; 38(4): 261-269.

Affiliation

Cardiology Section, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa, USA. alfred.bove@tuhs.temple.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21877555

Abstract

Recreational scuba diving is a sport that requires a certain physical capacity, in addition to consideration of the environmental stresses produced by increased pressure, low temperature and inert gas kinetics in tissues of the body. Factors that may influence ability to dive safely include age, physical conditioning, tolerance of cold, ability to compensate for central fluid shifts induced by water immersion, and ability to manage exercise demands when heart disease might compromise exercise capacity. Patients with coronary heart disease, valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias are capable of diving, but consideration must be given to the environmental factors that might interact with the cardiac disorder. Understanding of the interaction of the diving environment with various cardiac disorders is essential to providing a safe diving environment to individual divers with known heart disease.

Language: en