News
Underwater Scan Finds Significant Heart Changes in Divers
An underwater ultrasound scan of scuba divers’ hearts found significant changes in cardiac function during and after a dive, according to a small study in the journal Acta Physiologica. The test could be used to identify novice scuba divers with undetected heart disease or cardiac abnormalities that might prove fatal during a dive, researchers said.
Scuba diving is growing in popularity among older Americans and heart attacks and unknown heart rhythms are the most common cause of diving-related deaths after age 40, according to the Divers Alert Network.
The study, conducted in Italy, involved 18 scuba divers, including 16 men and two women. The participants were about 42 years old and each had made at least 100 dives. None smoked or had hypertension, heart or lung disease.
Cardiac-ultrasound tests were conducted on land before and after diving, and underwater at two depths. The divers wore suits with access for an ultrasound probe and maintained a kneeling position for 10 minutes at a depth of about 33 feet, then five minutes at 16.4 feet.
Among the heart changes recorded during and after the dive: The volume of the left ventricle, a lower heart chamber that pumps newly oxygenated blood to the body, increased significantly, while the flow of blood into the ventricles decreased. These changes may be due to a diving-related shift of blood from the lower extremities to the upper body, exerting a constrictive effect on the chest, the researchers said.
Bradycardia, the term for a slow resting heart rate, a condition that can cause dizziness and weakness if the rate falls below 50 beats per minute, was documented after but not during the scuba diving. The cardiovascular changes that occur during immersion may increase the risk of cardiac problems in divers who are unfit, overweight or have underlying heart disease, researchers said.
Heart rate may have been higher underwater because divers were disturbed or stressed by the ultrasound tests, researchers said.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
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