Dive Medicals

[kinoons]

No , this is not the original question and thus the limitation to one point does not make sense.

In the context of the discussion that scubagermany and I was having, it was.

None the less, is there evidence for less frequent but recurrent visits?

 

[dmaziuk]

I think the point in question is that a statin is not necessarily right for everyone.

The point was that it's not just the annual doctor visits, it's also the routine treatments prescribed by said doctors, that are being questioned wrt the difference to the outcomes.

But it was a bit of a tangent, conflated with the main problem: the absence of coherent argument. To wit:

Please note that many cardiovascular events do have good survival rates if treated quickly. A heart attack that is treated properly has excellent statistics nowadays. Untreated or treated to late (because you are under water when it occurs) mortality goes up to 80%.

So for divers These things should be much more important.

It's highly unlikely that you are going to experience a "cardiovascular event" in a doctor's office during a routing dive medical so that is "much more important for divers" exactly how?

 

[The Chairman]

Getting a physical is a good thing in my opinion. Requiring one to dive is not. I see my doctor on a regular basis, and she's made a difference in my quality of life. Will I live five minutes longer? I will be a lot more comfortable with the time I have left. Diving is great exercise, so why would anyone want to deprive me of that?

 

[dmaziuk]

Do you want to share with us what troubles you?

Ohkay. I've seen several of these "medicals" threads here over the years. I have not once seen a clear concise statement of what the regular dive medicals will actually achieve -- for the diver.

If your dive medical will make me immortal then sign me up. Otherwise, what's in it for me?

PS and by that I mean: I get what they do for the operators: business insurance terms, and I get what they do for the doctors: job security, and so on, but I am none of those things. What does it do for the guy taking the medical?

 

[Scubagermany]

"much more important for divers" exactly how?

because fast treatment in less than 1 hour ist much more difficult to achieve if you have a heart attack at a depth of 30m.

You have to make it to the surface alive, then to shore if you are on a boat and then to hospital.

It is not hard to see the difference from calling an ambulance that can take you to the hospital 5 miles away.

It's highly unlikely that you are going to experience a "cardiovascular event" in a doctor's office

Actually I have had that many times. It is not that I cause them but of course people come see me with chest pain and that sometimes turn out to be a heart attack.

Also for your check ups it is of course possible to see warnings like changes in you ECG or clinical symptoms that can be seen as precursers to heart attacks. That is what I mean when I say divers will especially want to know before they dive.

 

[dmaziuk]

So your dive medicals include stress ECG now? And when a 70 yo diver shows you the result a 70 yo would show, do you not clear them to dive because they are at risk of a heart attack?

 

[Scubagermany]

So your dive medicals include stress ECG now? And when a 70 yo diver shows you the result a 70 yo would show, do you not clear them to dive because they are at risk of a heart attack?

Of course they do for every diver over 40 as is recommended by the VDST.
Didn't you know?