Supra-Ventricular Tachycardia and diving

[dvalkema]

Hi,

Finally, my girlfriend and I found a hobby we both have lots of fun with... Diving.

We are very enthusiastic and want to become experienced divers.
But...

Someone warned us that a supr-ventricular tachycardia (which was diagnosed for my girlfriend a year ago) would be very dangerous in combination with diving.
When it was diagnosed, she was in a rather stressful situation, and things are way better now.

Is it true that she should not dive? It would be a big disappointment for the both of us.

Tnx for your answers.

 

[ssra30]

I think we need a bit more information regarding the SVT that your girlfriend has first such as is she on any medication, how frequently does she have the SVT, what kind of symptom does she have, what happened when she was first diagnosed with it, etc. How was it diagnosed, EP study? What was the cause of SVT, for example, conduction pathway defect in the heart or other systemic disease such as hyperthyroidism. I am not a cardiologist but I think we will need all of these information even before we might have some idea. The person who said that she should not dive, was the person her cardiologist? Was any particular reason given to her? If it was diagnosed by a cardiologist and the problem is intrinsic to her heart then the best person to answer the question would be her cardiologist, I would think.

My first reaction would be if this is an intrinsic heart problem, especially if she needs medication to control it then diving is probably not a good idea but it may be different if for example, it is caused by overactive thyroid gland and the problem has been taken care of.

 

[kelpdiver]

If another cause (such as hyperthyroidism, way too much stimulant--legal or otherwise) isn't found, you have to assume there's an accessory pathway causing this, which could cause trouble again. Disclaimer--I'm not a cardiologist, but I see PSVT every month or two in our urgent care clinic, and for most of them, it's not the first time. It may happen only every 5 years, but unless you can eliminate the outside cause or the pathway, it's likely to happen again. Can you guaranty there's never going to be a "stressful situation" ever again, especially if you're diving??? And while the current drug of choice to treat an episode(IV Adenocard) is incredibly successful (compared to options before it was available), I wouldn't want it to happen to someone at depth.
Talk it over with a cardiologist.

As usual, this is meant as a general discussion, not as specific medical advice, nor is a doctor-patient relationship implied.

Good luck

 

[dvalkema]

In the meantime, she had contact with her cardiologist.
He explainder her that her SVT was caused by stress, and that diving could help her to get rid off the stress. In other words, she was advised to go diving, although she has to be careful!

She is not taking any drugs (anymore). The SVT causes her heartrythm to increase to 150-180.

We'll just try it, and our instructors are notified. She'll be tested during pool practice and will take all steps in the course extra careful, until she's so familiar that she can go into the open water.

Tnx for your replies!

 

[DocVikingo]

Before you proceed, you could also submit your question to DAN at http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[kelpdiver]

I'm glad she's under the care of a cardiologist and I hope he/she is familiar with diving. I assume that for most divers, diving is a great stress reliever MOST of the time, but there can be times of great stress, moreso when you're new/inexperienced. Obviously some things can be anticipated--diving in no current, 100 ft. viz, warm water isn't the same as a cold, low-viz, current/surge environment. And just because you're aware of the many things that can happen, have trained for some, it doesn't mean they're not somewhat stressful when they do. The list is long, I won't try to make a complete one, but stuff happens. I wouldn't want to add an episode of SVT to it. Just my personal opinion.
Good luck