Diving with Heart Transplant

[Tankus]

I may undergo a heart transplant in the next several months. I can find very little on diving after a heart transplant. Can anyone direct me to further information in this regard?

 

[Protondecay123]

@Duke Dive Medicine should be able to help.

 

[Stoo]

If you are diving now, with a heart problem serious enough to require a transplant, then I have to think that you'll be better off post-transplant. (Should you be diving, if you are???)

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I may undergo a heart transplant in the next several months. I can find very little on diving after a heart transplant. Can anyone direct me to further information in this regard?

Hi @Tankus ,

I think that the two largest factors will be your exercise tolerance and your immune status. If you want to dive independently, you'll need to be able to exercise to a level commensurate with the conditions you anticipate during your diving, including responding to emergencies. Also, as you probably know, you'll be on anti-rejection medications that will compromise your immune system, so you will be at increased risk of infection. You'll have to be scrupulous about cleanliness of gear and carefully clean and observe any wounds you incur. I highly recommend that you be evaluated by a physician trained and experienced in examining divers following your transplant. Are you in the US?

Best regards,
DDM