hobie16
Registered
I am having trouble with my doctor giving me clearence to complete my certif. I have completed my 30 ft. dive and all my pool skills with flying colors.
physician clearance
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00wabbit
Contributor
It's going to be hard for anyone to give you advise without stating why the doctor won't clear you.
Then they are going to tell you to try and find a dive doctor to talk to and also to call Divers Alert Network and see what advise they have for you.
Why are you seeking doctor's clearance after those dives? If you had a pre-existing condition you should have looked for clearance before starting training. Did something come up during training? Or did you "forget" to tell the instructor about a pre-existing condition?
Then they are going to tell you to try and find a dive doctor to talk to and also to call Divers Alert Network and see what advise they have for you.
Why are you seeking doctor's clearance after those dives? If you had a pre-existing condition you should have looked for clearance before starting training. Did something come up during training? Or did you "forget" to tell the instructor about a pre-existing condition?
I understand that yes, i am seing a dive cardiolgist next thursday. I have an artifial mitral valve and take blood thinners and arrythmia meds. My primary won't clear me because he says he doesn't want to be the one that it is okay if something happens. He doesn't know anything about diving. So I want to know if the diving will geive me issue or is it just because I have this valve.
---------- Post Merged at 09:55 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:54 PM ----------
what is divers alert network
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I have been snorkeling and racing hobies all my life
---------- Post Merged at 09:55 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:54 PM ----------
what is divers alert network
---------- Post Merged at 09:57 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:54 PM ----------
I have been snorkeling and racing hobies all my life
00wabbit
Contributor
Ah
I responded to your other post. Divers Alert Network is a non-profit group related to dive medicine. They are the go to people for medical dive related questions. You can contact them to discuss your situation and they can help you find doctors that are familiar with dive physiology and can better assess your risks.
Here is one note they have on their site about artificial heart valves. Scuba Diving Medical FAQ Articles It doesn't explicitly say no diving but it does say that you need to work with your doctor to know the risk for your specific situation.
I responded to your other post. Divers Alert Network is a non-profit group related to dive medicine. They are the go to people for medical dive related questions. You can contact them to discuss your situation and they can help you find doctors that are familiar with dive physiology and can better assess your risks.
Here is one note they have on their site about artificial heart valves. Scuba Diving Medical FAQ Articles It doesn't explicitly say no diving but it does say that you need to work with your doctor to know the risk for your specific situation.
Neither the valve nor the blood thinners would be an absolute contraindication to diving, but the arrhythmia meds give me pause. A cardiac arrhythmia that interferes with circulation would be a VERY bad thing to have happen underwater. But there are a lot of different arrhythmias, and some have a significant impact on blood flow and others have very little. If you have a mitral valve replacement, I'd be suspicious that you have atrial fibrillation. If you have been out of that abnormal rhythm for a long time, it may not be a big issue, but if you have periodic episodes of it, that might be enough to make a physician advise you that diving would be a high risk activity.
Nobody here can really answer your question, because one would have to know what your cardiac function (ejection fraction) is, what your arrhythmia is, how you tolerate it, what meds you are taking for it, and what your general overall medical history is.
I understand both your desire to dive, and your physician's unwillingness to write you a blank check to do it.
Nobody here can really answer your question, because one would have to know what your cardiac function (ejection fraction) is, what your arrhythmia is, how you tolerate it, what meds you are taking for it, and what your general overall medical history is.
I understand both your desire to dive, and your physician's unwillingness to write you a blank check to do it.
drrich2
Contributor
Hobie16:
I've heard seizures (which aren't your problem) underwater described as a 'non-survivable event,' on the grounds you lose consciousness, likely spit out your reg., may then inhale water and pretty promptly drown. The truth is a tad more complicated than that, but you see the problem. Odds of your buddy noticing in time, implementing proper rescue procedure to secure the reg. in your mouth and get you to the surface, and all this working out already, aren't something to bet your life on.
Now, you didn't say anything about having seizures, I know. But an arrhythmia raises the question of whether you're at significant risk to lose consciousness during a dive, which could present some similar concerns. I'm not saying this is the only concern, but it may be worth considering.
Richard.
I've heard seizures (which aren't your problem) underwater described as a 'non-survivable event,' on the grounds you lose consciousness, likely spit out your reg., may then inhale water and pretty promptly drown. The truth is a tad more complicated than that, but you see the problem. Odds of your buddy noticing in time, implementing proper rescue procedure to secure the reg. in your mouth and get you to the surface, and all this working out already, aren't something to bet your life on.
Now, you didn't say anything about having seizures, I know. But an arrhythmia raises the question of whether you're at significant risk to lose consciousness during a dive, which could present some similar concerns. I'm not saying this is the only concern, but it may be worth considering.
Richard.
Concur with TSandM and drrich2 above re the arrhythmias. Also, we are typically reluctant to clear people who are on anticoagulant therapy to dive.
freewillie
Contributor
I'm sorry, but it looks like from a medical perspective your underlying conditions aren't compatible with diving.
The mitral valve repair requires anticoagulation and it is not recommended to dive while on blood thinners. Many dive related accidents have the potential to cause bleeding. What would normally be a painful but nonfatal complication of barotrauma of the inner ear with bleeding may be a more significant event when on a blood thinner. Going up the severity of injury scale, you would be at significant risk for bleeding to death with any barotrauma to the lungs if bleeding was involved.
Atrial fibrillation would be the most common arrhythmia and it is not a condition recommended for diving, even if it is treated and controlled on medication. The potential for problems, however minor or remote, is still there and it is not recommended to dive.
You are also confusing your abiltity to snorkel and sail with medical conditions compatible with the increased physical nature of scuba diving. That would be like me saying I play football with my kids on the weekend, why can't I play football in the NFL? And it is not just a legal issue with fear of malpractice and lawyers. Your doctor has a responsibility to certify that you are physically fit. If you do not fit the criteria or guidelines it becomes irresponsible to certify yes when the actual answer is no. From a legal perspective, being negligent medically is just that. The doctor certified that you are fit when in fact your underlying conditions are that it is advised NOT to dive.
Sorry.
The mitral valve repair requires anticoagulation and it is not recommended to dive while on blood thinners. Many dive related accidents have the potential to cause bleeding. What would normally be a painful but nonfatal complication of barotrauma of the inner ear with bleeding may be a more significant event when on a blood thinner. Going up the severity of injury scale, you would be at significant risk for bleeding to death with any barotrauma to the lungs if bleeding was involved.
Atrial fibrillation would be the most common arrhythmia and it is not a condition recommended for diving, even if it is treated and controlled on medication. The potential for problems, however minor or remote, is still there and it is not recommended to dive.
You are also confusing your abiltity to snorkel and sail with medical conditions compatible with the increased physical nature of scuba diving. That would be like me saying I play football with my kids on the weekend, why can't I play football in the NFL? And it is not just a legal issue with fear of malpractice and lawyers. Your doctor has a responsibility to certify that you are physically fit. If you do not fit the criteria or guidelines it becomes irresponsible to certify yes when the actual answer is no. From a legal perspective, being negligent medically is just that. The doctor certified that you are fit when in fact your underlying conditions are that it is advised NOT to dive.
Sorry.
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