Re: Scuba Diving after the Maze Update

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Posted by Dave Funderburg on August 07, 2002 at 09:16:03:

In Reply to: Scuba Diving after the Maze Update posted by Ken Willis on August 07, 2002 at 06:31:53:

Ken,

The issue of scuba diving safely after the MAZE is related more to the bodies reaction to drugs under pressure than the physical limitations of the surgery. When you are diving you are subjected to an additional atmosphere of pressure for each 30' of depth. At 95' you are subjected to slightly more than 3 additional atmospheres of pressure. Your body reacts differently to different substances that it has consumed as this pressure increases, but in many cases the effect of the substance is enhanced. For example, if you drink one beer at sea level it will have the effect of three at 95', which is three additional atmospheres of pressure. The effect with alchol seeems to be linear. A similar effect also applies to some medications, although in some cases the effect appears to be geometric. I have seen a student on a check out dive that I was helping monitor that ignored all of our warnings and smoked some grass or popped some pills late the night before a dive. At about 40' he went berzerk. Two other divers grabbed him and brought him up about 5' and he was fine again. we did get him out of the water. I personally would not dive if I were on coumadin. Any other medications that a person is on can potentially have an effect while diving. The maximum depth of your dive is also an issue. For many years 100' was considered the safe limit for a sport diver. I believe they now recommend 60'. As you know, you physically feel the same at 30' as you do at 130', but the physics of what is happening to your body pressure wise is enhanced the deeper you go. Sorry to ramble on,but there is no easy answer to the question. The only way to be sure is to get an evaluation from a DAN certified cardiologist that has the training to evaluate how you individually can handle the physics of scuba diving. Go to the DAN site http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/. They have alot of info on how a heart issue can impact your ability to dive safely. Click on Diving Medicine on the left side of their home page. Never had a chance to dive in the North West. I bet it is great. Take care and be safe.

Dave

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