Close Call; Glad I could write this incident report.

[Barracuda2]

Just a closing remark on this incident: I got "back on the horse" April 19 & 20. I did two dives on the 19th and two dives on the 20th. I started easy; 40' for 30 min. in my local dive hole (quarry) here in Ohio. I made sure a buddy kept a close eye on me on the first two dives. As I gained my confidence back, I increased the depths and times on the next 3 dives, ending up with a 95' dive. The water temps. at depth were about 39 degrees; shallower about 41 to 45 degrees. I had no problems at all and really feel that I AM BACK.

Now here's the good part:

I just got back today from an over-night stay at the hospital after having a very successful heart ablation. Because of this procedure, I am totally off meds. The circuit that caused my Atrial flutter was zapped and can no longer kick it in. Now this really raises my level of confidence. No more flutter, or palpitations = no more beta blockers, calcium blockers, or anything to control this heart beat. I am back to normal and ready to hit the Great Lakes this season. No one will confirm that these meds set off my IPE hit, but I'm sure they were the cause. The closest answer I could get from medical personal was "it may have been a contributing factor." Bottom line: if you'er on a beta blockers and dive, use extreme caution.

 

[sbtag]

Bottom line: if you'er on a beta blockers and dive, use extreme caution.

I'm glad this story had a happy ending. But even aside from the open question of whether they might've contributed to your IPE, I think your admonition about beta blockers is something people should be aware of. It seems to me that diving while using beta blockers is potentially dangerous, as they can make the sort of vigorous physical activity required to respond to certain dive emergency situations difficult.

 

[TSandM]

Glad you had an ablation -- in your situation, that's really the best answer.

I believe that hypertension itself has been discusssed as a risk factor for IPE. One would have to be very careful to tease out whether the hypertension or the med prescribed for it was raising the risk, though.

Barracuda, were you always aware of your Afib? I ask because not everyone is, and if you had gone into Afib in the water, that could certainly provoke a degree of heart failure.

I think the work Duke is doing is our best way to find out whether a given medication or medical condition is a strong predisposing factor to this malady. Since it occurs in healthy people on no meds, no drug is a necessary condition for the development of IPE. And since there are undoubtedly many people diving on beta blockers (since they are quite commonly used for hypertension, and hypertension is an extremely common problem) and not developing IPE, they are not a sufficient condition, either.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

I didn't read the whole thread, but found this:

Exploring the depths of immersion pulmonary edema

Hope it is not repeated information.

Regards,
DSD