Cardiologist said no

[Jamesaaa]

They give you a radioactive substance called Cardiolite. I call it an MRI,you lie down and it moves you into this area that has 3 flat panels and it moves around your chest creating images using the Cardiolite to show your blood flow. This takes 20 minutes. I used MRI for the lack of a better description or name.

(Nuclear camera)

 

[The Chairman]

Did your cardiologist say why he would not sign off for diving?

I would demand this. If you don't like the answer, then find another cardiologist.

My opinion is that when you check a box, any box on the medical form when beginning scuba diving instruction you are unnecessarily placing yourself and the fate of your diving at the mercy of some doctor somewhere who may or may not be worth the diploma on his or her wall.

Please do us all a favor and be honest. People over 60 can and do die diving far more frequently than any other group of divers. How unfair it would be for you to check a box for convenience sake and cause an instructor undue pain should you die on a dive. If no doctor will sign off on you learning to dive: then don't do it. There is nothing down there worth dying over. Nothing.

If I were in your position, I'd ask Dr. Doug Ebersole for his opinion. And I'd follow it.

@Dr. Doug Ebersole is an awesome surgeon and I would trust his opinion over all others. I am not sure what his practice includes, so perhaps he can tell us here.

 

[Bubblesong]

@Jamesaaa, you did not mention your blood pressure? Have you already had a heart attack with resulting heart damage? Lung efficiency 100% or less?

I am choosing to add a lot of shallow snorkeling lately, in places where there there is loads of life in just a few feet of water, in both northeast and Bermuda. It is easier on the body to not lug the heavy tanks and weights etc. i suggest you find better, shallower, snorkel spots, like Northeast, places with less sand and more critters. Don’t scuba, here’s my reasoning:

the swimming for 45 min to an hour is a lot of strain, plus doing multiple dives usually two per boat trip. It doesn’t compare to the pool work you’ve described.
Then there is the increased pressure on the body at depth. Then there is the increased blood pressure from adrenaline.
The problem is not just that you’ll have heart attack and die, but that you might get other people killed as they try to lug you back to the boat, ruin there lives that they have to experience this kind of “Closed Casket” horror.

On the other hand, I’ve seen so many unhealthy looking types on boats, i think you wouldn’t be alone if you did go, but you MIGHT set off a chain reaction, first your have a small heart attack, your buddy tries to lug you and has a stroke, another diver sees this and panics shooting straight to surface, (while holding breath), knocking the regulator out of HIS buddies mouth, who panics and gloms onto the DM, who tries to save that guy but gets hit by dive ladder while struggling with the guy, and hit again when boat captain tries to pull them both out of the water but falls in himself, right on their necks. Leaving an empty boat, drifting silently on the calm seas.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

First contact DAN or the cardiologist recommended in this thread. I'm willing to bet you're actually healthier than many divers I see on boats.

Second, just as not all climbers are ready for Mt. Everest, not all divers are ready for cave deco rebreather diving. Accept your limitations and live with them. Our travel group consists of mostly over 60 year old friends. One has a wrecked back and must gear up in the water. One died for 11 minutes from a heart attack and has the ok to dive, he's even an instructor. Many of us are divemasters. You may have to hire a private divemaster to help you gear up in the water, limit your max depth, or just do slow drift dives.

By tailoring your dive plan to accommodate your limitations, I think you can dive once you have the go ahead from a doc. Keep in mind that paralyzed people dive every day with help. Find a better doc, find a great instructor willing to work with you, and join the addiction.

All that money isn't going to spend itself!!!

Jay

 

[sea_ledford]

Since you are in Spring, make an appointment with Dr. Le. She is a board certified hyperbaric physician and is head of the UTMB Undersea and Hyperbaric clinic in League City. Not many people have access to a diving doc, take advantage of it.

Wound Care and Hyperbarics

 

[caruso]

Please do us all a favor and be honest. People over 60 can and do die diving far more frequently than any other group of divers. How unfair it would be for you to check a box for convenience sake and cause an instructor undue pain should you die on a dive.

Let's face it. There are lots of divers who should never be in the water. Divers who may have gotten the all clear when they began scuba diving over the years have put on weight, lost muscle tone, developed systemic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart issues or suffered injuries that reduce strength and mobility. The fatal accident statistics point to medical reasons as a common cause. These people are leaving behind traumatized dive masters, buddies, friends and loved ones too.

Unfortunately it's the nature of the sport and often unwise choices by the victim to live an unhealthy lifestyle and accept the risks of physical exertion associated with diving. It's not just instructors who may need to deal with the aftermath of a diving fatality it could be any one of us.

Perhaps there should be periodic medical checkups because divers cannot be trusted to police themselves. As far as the Op on this thread goes, if he goes to enough doctors he will ultimately find one who will sign off. A medical clearance to dive is no guarantee of safety as the accident statistics clearly prove.

Ultimately a diver is responsible for his or her own safety which means ideally we keep ourselves fit, our gear in proper order, we know our limitations, and we are aware of any health issues and associated risks by discussing them with appropriate medical professionals and deal with them responsibly.

Checking a few boxes on medical questionaire isn't the answer.

 

[tursiops]

Checking a few boxes on medical questionaire isn't the answer.

Perhaps not, but lying (especially about your health) to your doctor, dive instructor, boat operator, etc isn't the answer either.

 

[caruso]

lying (especially about your health) to your doctor, dive instructor, boat operator, etc isn't the answer either.

Then there's that.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

I appreciate any response good or not in my favor.
I am 66 years old. I had 2 stints put in my heart in 1995. I had quite smoking 3 years before that and had started going to the gym.
I walk miles at work every day. I go to the gym 3 times a week. I can swim freestyle in my pool 100 yards with no problem. I am 5’ 8” tall and weigh 174 lbs.
And hate to be told no, and be told I can not do something.
I went to the Bahamas snorkeling. The only thing that went thru my mind was I wanted to be down there. The water was so clear and so much more was just 20’ farther down.
That is who I am
I went to my cardiologist to get an Ok to learn to scuba dive. I took the nuclear, MRI, ultrasound, blood tests and treadmill exam. MRI was good, ultrasound was good, blood test were good. I lasted 13 minutes on the treadmill which he said was great.The only thing he saw was in that 13 minutes my heart missed 2 beats. He told me no that I should not do this. For as much as I do not want question his knowledge. I DO.
I am where I am today because I stay active.
I am looking for opinions from the knowledge with in this forum good or bad. Many of you are professionals in this field and I would appreciate your response good or bad.
Thank You for taking the time to read this.

+1 on the recommendation to see a diving physician, and if there's one immediately available, so much the better. Not much to add to what's already been said about your blood pressure, measured cardiac output, and the possibility of re-stenosis in the old stents. Are you on any anticoagulation? Also, what exactly do you mean by "missed two beats"? This could be premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) as one poster noted, or it could mean something else, like you dropped a couple of beats a la second degree heart block. Dr. Ebersole may have some information to add. If he doesn't jump in, he usually responds to PMs.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Let's face it. There are lots of divers who should never be in the water. Divers who may have gotten the all clear when they began scuba diving over the years have put on weight, lost muscle tone, developed systemic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart issues or suffered injuries that reduce strength and mobility. The fatal accident statistics point to medical reasons as a common cause. These people are leaving behind traumatized dive masters, buddies, friends and loved ones too.

Unfortunately it's the nature of the sport and often unwise choices by the victim to live an unhealthy lifestyle and accept the risks of physical exertion associated with diving. It's not just instructors who may need to deal with the aftermath of a diving fatality it could be any one of us.

Perhaps there should be periodic medical checkups because divers cannot be trusted to police themselves. As far as the Op on this thread goes, if he goes to enough doctors he will ultimately find one who will sign off. A medical clearance to dive is no guarantee of safety as the accident statistics clearly prove.

Ultimately a diver is responsible for his or her own safety which means ideally we keep ourselves fit, our gear in proper order, we know our limitations, and we are aware of any health issues and associated risks by discussing them with appropriate medical professionals and deal with them responsibly.

Checking a few boxes on medical questionaire isn't the answer.

I would submit that it may not be the answer for YOU, but it is a reasonably good screening tool for the less medically inclined.

Best regards,
DDM