non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema

[schai]

Do you have a history of Afib? Was it documented in the hospital?

As of today, I believe I have had a couple of undocumented Afib events.

It was definitely documented in the hospital as I was wearing an EKG telemetry box and was constantly being recorded. It started during the second evening and self-corrected in the early morning. The floor nurse told me while it was happening, but I felt normal.


I would wonder if you had immersion pulmonary edema from much deeper, and were vomiting at the surface from hypoxemia. I doubt IPE had its onset at the end of the dive, on the surface, especially if you were impaired before you got there.

I am unsure of the vomiting. It might have been big burps from compressed gas in my belly. I did not have any vertigo.

I do not know if IPE is the correct term, but I'm sure that I inhaled seawater after I lost consciousness on the surface.

What are the normal causes of IPE during a dive?

Note that I grew up in Miami, Florida, free diving since childhood, and with scuba since high school.

 

[schai]

UPDATE: I finally spoke to the dive boat skipper who saw everything as he stood his post on the foredeck watching for problems.

I came up normally at the buoy, lifted my mask, signaled "OK", threw up in the ocean, signaled "OK" and threw up again. Then I pulled and swam along the floating line towards the stern. Throwing up was an obvious "ok NOT!" signal, so the skipper watched me the whole time. As I was going towards the stern, I finally became completely unconscious, let go of the line and rolled onto my back. I probably inhaled some sea water that added to the existing edema. I was pulled up and out quite promptly and given pure oxygen.

MEDICALLY: The Cardiologist's final evaluation is that I had Submersion Pulmanory Edema followed by Hypercarbic Narcosis.

Over several minutes, my brain was getting messed up. I can report that, with not too much of a macho attitude (who, me??), a messed up brain isn't the best tool to recognize it's messed up. I was not having any respiratory distress. I ended the dive and got to the surface before I lost consciousness. Note that I am 67 years old and have high blood pressure that needs better treatment. These can be factors in IPE.

I was unlucky to have a major physiological event during a deep dive. I was lucky to have recognized it before disaster happened. I was very fortunate at the end to be on a dive boat with an experienced and attentive crew.

MANY THANKS to OCEAN DIVERS of Key Largo, FL. USA.