Diver critical after heart attack - Australia

[DandyDon]

Diver rushed to hospital after suffering heart attack | Northern Star

A MAN has been rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack while diving off the coast of Ballina this morning.
Ballina Jet Boat was called out to pull the unconscious 45-year-old man from the water, who was understood to have gone into cardiac arrest while diving.
It is understood the 45-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest while diving.
Police and paramedics rushed to the Ballina Jet Boat headquarters on Regatta St to pick the man up.
When they arrived he was unconscious and not breathing.
The man was taken by ambulance to Ballina Hospital in a critical condition.

 

[clownfishsydney]

I am devastated that my friend of 25 years died today while diving a newly discovered wreck (he would have been the second person to dive it if he actually got there). If he did dive of a heart attack, it was a result of what happened, not what caused the incident in the first place (advice second hand from via Police). It seems that there may have been some sort of equipment failure, but this is not clear.

This was a deep and difficult dive, over 100 m, by someone who has done well over 2,000 dives (I had done almost 300 with him), including probably around 100 to this depth or more.

Kelly and my thoughts go out to his partner as well as his parents, and the fellow divers on the boat and in the water.

 

[drbill]

I really dislike it when deaths due to medical problems are listed as diving deaths. Do they list those who die of heart attacks or strokes while playing golf as golfing deaths?

 

[fsardone]

Agreed,
but to lessen your pain (I am also a pilot) medical deaths while flying are listed as flying accidents (albeit with medical factors) ....

Cheers

Fabio

 

[tracydr]

Michael, I'm very sorry about the loss of your friend. It sure seems that those dives below 75M are dangerous, even today,with better equipment and gases. There is simply no room for error or physical weakness. I hope that we are able to hear more details about what happened, once the shock wears off. Knowing that you always provide excellent,detailed reports, I'm sure that we'll be hearing more about what really happened.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

Do they list those who die of heart attacks or strokes while playing golf as golfing deaths?

Well, yeah they sort of do (although we don't track golfing deaths like we do diving deaths).

We wrestle with this in LA on occassion. I'm writing up a case now where the victim entered the water but never submerged. His intent was certainly to go diving as he was all geared up and with a buddy and that was what they were going to do. So is this a diving death or not? The argument for "yes" is not only that that's what they were in the process of doing, but you wonder if the physcial stresses that diving puts on you (gearing up, making the entry, kicking out, etc.) contributed? And a lot of times there's no way to know conclusively (in this case the autopsy revealed nothing unusual or outwardly suspicious).

I think that as a group of divers and an industry, we have to stop hearing "died while scuba diving" as "scuba diving killed him". But there are certainly instances where the physical activity of the sport may have been the trigger, just as I'm sure there have been instances of someone whacking a really strong & long dirve and then dropping dead due to the extra exertion.

- Ken

 

[Hatul]

Well, yeah they sort of do (although we don't track golfing deaths like we do diving deaths).

We wrestle with this in LA on occassion. I'm writing up a case now where the victim entered the water but never submerged. His intent was certainly to go diving as he was all geared up and with a buddy and that was what they were going to do. So is this a diving death or not? The argument for "yes" is not only that that's what they were in the process of doing, but you wonder if the physcial stresses that diving puts on you (gearing up, making the entry, kicking out, etc.) contributed? And a lot of times there's no way to know conclusively (in this case the autopsy revealed nothing unusual or outwardly suspicious).

I think that as a group of divers and an industry, we have to stop hearing "died while scuba diving" as "scuba diving killed him". But there are certainly instances where the physical activity of the sport may have been the trigger, just as I'm sure there have been instances of someone whacking a really strong & long dirve and then dropping dead due to the extra exertion.

- Ken

There is actually a lot of exertion and physiological stress in gearing up here in S Cal. It's hard work and heat stress that's relieved by finally relaxing and cooling past the surf zone.