PFO-An open letter of thanks to George Irvine (long)

[detroit diver]

Yeah... that's risky alright. Have you told your wife you are moving yet?

No. She's still getting over the fact that I wanted to fix the PFO!

 

[wandernsoul]

FYI, yes I did notice a big difference in endurance after having had my PFO repaired. But the defect I had was quite large, the size of a quarter I was told. And I was symptomatic, I just didn't realize why. My doctors always told me I had a murmur but it was 'no big deal, a quiet murmur'. Well, no wonder. The friggin defect was so big you could drive a truck through it! Chest xray showed an enlargement of the blood vessels in my heart and lungs, and cardiac cath gave us the answer. I had the surgery when I was 21---yes open heart and yes quite an ordeal.....I'm so glad you didn't have to go through that-----and I'll be 50 at the end of the year. I have no doubt I would have had a great big heart attack if i hadn't had the surgery. If the defect had been smaller who knows what would have happened....??
Be well,
Beck

 

[VTernovski]

are there any risks associated with testing for PFO? How much does it cost to do such a test? Does the medical insurance cover for that sort of test? (I certainly don't want to let the insurance company to know that I am just about to take up technical diving). Would the test be conducted by any cardiologist doctor or that has to be a doctor who knows something about diving?

 

[ckharlan66]

My doctor indicated the risks of the test were minor. The bubbles that pass through the hole during the test are very small. The risk in diving comes when the bubbles cross through the hole when they are small at depth and then expand on the wrong side of the cardiac path. I am no expert on this and one of the Doctors may have more accurate information.

My Doctor indicated that the test would only have been covered by Medical insurance if I had symtoms that indicated a PFO might be present, such as a murmer or other issues. But talk to the doctor they know the insurance company policies better than anyone.

I think most Cardiologist can do the test because divers are not the only ones with PFO's or the only ones at risk if they have them. The difference is if you doctor is familiar with dive meds they might be more aware of the specific risks associated with diving with a PFO.

Chad

 

[WVMike]

This has been a good discussion, thanks for sharing your experience with us.

FWIW

The PADI encyclopedia of Rec Diving, does discuss this issue briefly.

Mike

 

[dweeb]

BTW, I did call DAN to see what they had to say about it. I asked if they thought I should get tested and told them what kind of dives I was doing (a little deeper and longer than some). They asked if I'd ever had any trouble and I said no. They said I probably didn't need to worry then. I asked about some of the things I had read (the stuff I related above). They said that all that's true and that it was up to me.

I asked DAN and also Dan Volker, a dive buddy of George Irvine's who's very knowledgeable about these issues. He was familiar with my history, including having perused some of my results in several triathlons. He said that my times indicated a VO2 max that could not be achieved with a PFO, so not to concern myself. I volunteered as a research subject at DAN (ascent rate study) and the physician who examined me there said the same thing. I've also read athletic training articles that mentioned PFO as an explanation for people who just can't develop their aerobic capacity above a very low level. Bottom line, if you run or engage seriously in any other aerobic sport, and you can manage a sub - 45 minute 10K, you don't have one. In other words, if you have to worry that you have a PFO, you probably have other issues that militate against considering yourself fit for diving.

 

[Arnaud]

DD, thanks for sharing your experience. Hope you'll be able to safely get back in the water very soon.

 

[jcalexander]

Thank you for the information and best wishes for a quick recovery

 

[crispos]

This is a page of interest.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...d=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=2564057

It would appear PFO is a risk factor for DCI. However, the risk of DCI with PFO is only 3-4 times (ie 3-4 divers in 10,000) versus that of non-PFO (.5 divers in 10,000).

I have contacted both PADI and NAUI to determine their position on this important matter.

 

[brian_dixon]

Could anyone give me the following:

1. Exact Results of the BC study
2. Real chance of having PFO

I want to make some calculations to maybe calm the fears of some people. At first read I was pretty scared, but after running some stats with aprox numbers I am not to worried. Hoping maybe to calm some nerves.