I have been reading my rescue book waiting for it to get a little warmer for class, and had a question on the ascent, I know I have to go up at a safe speed, but if there were people on the surface near enough to where the distressed diver would "pop" could I send him up "express" I just finished EFR and seems that not breathing = no heartbeat ~= dead. no heartbeat / breathing then no Nitrogen exchange no reason to go up slow might as well pop the top. also if there is any chance he can breath on his own at the surface faster is better. better to be alive in the deco chamber than dead. fully inflate his BC and let go?
A couple of thoughts from a medical standpoint:
First, sending a non-breathing diver up "express" risks lung over expansion, especially if the airway is blocked. This, in turn, could render it difficult, if not impossible, for the victim to adequately ventilate -- even if he started breathing on his own.
Second, although brain cells start dying within minutes when deprived of oxygen, drowning victims seem to have less problem with this. I once cared for a young drowned victim who had been unconscious underwater for 40 minutes. She was comatose when she reached the hospital, but over the next few days, she awoke without any detectable effects. Obviously everyone is not so lucky, but you might be surprised how long drowning victims can stay down and still recover.
I agree with those who advise making sure you control your own ascent so that you don't become another victim.
But I am also saying here that just because there is no breathing, it doesn't mean the victim is as good as dead. The object is to give him a chance, and try NOT to make things worse by inducing further injury.