Doubler
Contributor
I'm thinking it is time to just put away the mask and fins. It will be hard but think of your family. My 2 cents.
Diving with an internal defibrillator?
- Thread starter beaverdivers
- Start date
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cnspotts
Registered
Yes. (Not me)
Good idea? Dunno, Isn't that what insurance is for?
Good idea? Dunno, Isn't that what insurance is for?
The secondary problem is that if this patient presents for treatment at a hyperbaric chamber we can't begin treatment until we can verify the depth rating of the device.
We treat DCS at 60 feet, AGE at 165 feet. So even if the device is rated deep enough for a shallow recreational dive it may compromise our ability to treat the patient in the chamber.
We treat DCS at 60 feet, AGE at 165 feet. So even if the device is rated deep enough for a shallow recreational dive it may compromise our ability to treat the patient in the chamber.
All ICDs and pacemakers are "depth rated" to at least 2-3 atm because of wound care therapy. I checked with the St. Jude rep today and he said their ICDs are all rated to 198 feet.
The only studies I have read suggested ICDs continued to function normally at depth though there can be some deformation of the generator at depth due to the air spaces inside the generator.
If there is any concern with the ICD malfunctioning at depth, you can always have the device turned off by a representative of the device manufacturer. If there is not time for that, you can simply put a magnet on the device and it will be inactivated.
Doug
The only studies I have read suggested ICDs continued to function normally at depth though there can be some deformation of the generator at depth due to the air spaces inside the generator.
If there is any concern with the ICD malfunctioning at depth, you can always have the device turned off by a representative of the device manufacturer. If there is not time for that, you can simply put a magnet on the device and it will be inactivated.
Doug
I posted a document from St. Jude a couple of years ago that confirmed what Doug wrote above. The document said that the devices tested did not fail at that depth and may have continued to function deeper if they had been so tested. It also said that if it did fail at a greater depth, it would not be damaged. It would just not function as designed until under less pressure.
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