When the doc says "No Diving"

[stairman]

Went for a checkup yesterday and had an irregular EKG. No diving till a cardiologist checks me out this week. I eat right, dont smoke, get more exercise than a 48 year old should have too and now this. Also no symptoms at all. In the back of my mind I may not dive again but Im staying optomistic. Guess Ill postpone my scooter course plans again though. I would urge everyone to have an annual checkup since we all participate in an extreme sport. I followed someones advice on here and now glad I did. I hope my next thread isnt on the gear exchange.

[adam0321]

. I hope my next thread isnt on the gear exchange.

ME NEITHER! I hope everything works out for you......

[FW]

I am glad you made the decision to wait! I had to recover one of my former students, because he went diving after he was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and scheduled for an EKG.

[divindoc]

Don't be discouraged. An "irregular heart beat" on an EKG can be inconsequential, though it may be a sign of more serious issues. Just get it checked out, for your own piece of mind if nothing else. The fact that you're not having any symptoms is generally a good sign. The cardiologist should be able to put all this into perspective.

[Xenia]

I really hope this is nothing. But to keep it on the bright side, I believe it may not be. I had a similar experience a doctor had told me that I have "mitral valve prolapse". Not even sure if I am writing this correctly. Anyway before I started diving I went to Duke hospital (it was convenient that I was living in NC) and did thorough heart tests with doctors from the hyperbaric section of the hospital. It turned that I was fine and fully fit for diving.

You are absolutely right though, we need to do a checkup every year. I do this every January, even though I am 33 and exercising every day, eating based on the Mediterranean diet and all that good stuff. A doctor has told me that I could do the checkup every two years at my age but because of cave diving I go every year.

Hope your next post will be a dive report!

[diveconjeff]

"mitral valve prolapse"

Ahhh, the old extra "perflump". They detected MVP in me as well about 8 years ago. After a battery of tests, I was OK'ed to return to real diving.

At that point the biggest thing to worry about was dental procedures resulting in an infection that could spread into my bloodstream.

Hope things turn out just as well for you!

[Puttzer]

...

At that point the biggest thing to worry about was dental procedures resulting in an infection that could spread into my bloodstream.

...!

Or: dental procedures that could spread an existing local infection (gum disease, gingivitis) into the blood stream and settle into a "bad" heart valve. Bad oral hygiene is the highest risk, even without any dental procedures.

[Jax]

Went for a checkup yesterday and had an irregular EKG. No diving till a cardiologist checks me out this week. I eat right, dont smoke, get more exercise than a 48 year old should have too and now this. Also no symptoms at all. In the back of my mind I may not dive again but Im staying optomistic. Guess Ill postpone my scooter course plans again though. I would urge everyone to have an annual checkup since we all participate in an extreme sport. I followed someones advice on here and now glad I did. I hope my next thread isnt on the gear exchange.

Take heart! (Pun intended.) My husband had the same, but after a bazillion tests including carrying a heart monitor, a CT-scan-like thing where the scanner went around him sitting in a chair, stress tests, a regular CT-scan, etc, he was completely cleared.

However, any new life insurance will be very costly. . . .

[mdax]

Thankfully you found this out while on dry land! Now you can get it squared away and be confident of not having any incidents in the cave. I'm not eating meat, exercising and drinking at least a gallon of water a day just to keep my blood pressure perfect for cave diving....it sucks but i owe it to my buddy.
Cave divers should get their yearly check ups, blood work and most importantly heart checks (blood pressure, ekg). Good on you for making this happen!

[mwenner]

You're going to be just fine, when it's all said and done. Better to wait, and dive again, than to rush, and have a problem. Thanks for sharing your situation. Mark