Descend when experiencing C/P?

[all4scuba05]

In another thread, it is stated that the diver was experiencing chest pain and descended twice to the sand to try to alleviate it. Is this done incase the pain is from a pulmonary embolism?

here's the thread. read post 27.
http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=198936

 

[DeepSeaDan]

In another thread, it is stated that the diver was experiencing chest pain and descended twice to the sand to try to alleviate it. Is this done incase the pain is from a pulmonary embolism?

here's the thread. read post 27.
http://scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=198936

...reasons why this unfortunate chap did what he did. To my knowledge there is no specific technique recommended for dealing with "pain" while diving other than to surface normally & deal with it. I would think that true pulmonary embolism would present quickly & dramatically, with a rapid deterioration of vital signs; thus it is unlikely that the sufferer would have the opportunity to make any type of response to the event.

As to this man's specific actions at the time, we can only speculate. Depending on the intensity, chest pain can be quite debillitating / incapacitating & he may have returned to bottom simply to try & deal with the discomfort. He may have been experimenting to see if his condition improved by re-descending. His thought processes may have been challenged by the event to the extent that logical action was difficult for him.

We shall never know.

Most people suffering a cardiac event are loathe to recognize it as such, are desperately willing to write the pain off to anything other than cardiac related, making "denial" a huge problem for casualties to recognize & rescuers to overcome.

Regards,
DSD

 

[jbd]

I read the post you referenced and from information relayed to me from another message board, the description of the profile doesn't match what people on site described as the guys profile.

There would be no benefit or reason to descend when experiencing chest pain while UW. Chest pain can be caused by many things. Some are minor and of no real concern, some can be for life threatening or even fatal reasons. Knowing which is the case at hand is sometimes difficult to discern even when on dry land. As DeepSeaDan noted one would be best off to surface and deal with the problem on the boat or ashore.

Also as noted by DeepSeaDan, I have seen people completely debilitated by chest pain of cardiac origin. If memory serves these folks also exhaled quite deeply with a groan. UW this would most likely create a state of negative buoyancy i.e. the person would sink.

 

[all4scuba05]

I'm going to quote something that was said in the post I linked...

The rumor that is around the p-cola dive comunity is that he started to experience pain at around 6- to 70 fsw and went all the way down to the sand and began making another ascent. He still felt pain during the ascent and again went to the sand.

I read the post you referenced and from information relayed to me from another message board, the description of the profile doesn't match what people on site described as the guys profile.[/ QUOTE]

I'm just wondering if you found out that his actions were not what was said in that other thread. Did he drop down twice to the sand to alleviate the chest pain?

 

[jbd]

There is another message board called The Deco Stop that has more information on this event from people who knew the diver as well from people who were on the boat and saw the guy at various stages of his dive. What was relayed to me from that board indicates that the up and down profile mentioned is not what happened.