Bloodshot eyes-extreme

[Duke Dive Medicine]

My cardiologist is of the school of thought that no man should dive regardless how healthy. I reached 12.1 mets on the bruce protocol at my last check up and stopped due to unbearable shin splints. No chest pain but out of breath certainly. Heart rate high enough for my age etc. Note I am 5'-4" and weigh 225lbs so I am already running on the treadmill as it approaches 4mph. I have spoken to other cardiologists that are familiar with diving and they feel 12 mets would cover most diving encounters.

12.1 METs comes close to Bove's recommendation of 13 METs, though this recommendation has been debated. From Lynch and Bove, July-August 2009 issue of JABFM: "Fitness to dive is optimal when a diver can reach a maximum capacity of 13 metabolic equivalents (METS) or stage 4 of the Bruce protocol. This peak capacity allows a diver to exercise comfortably at 8 to 9 METS."

From a medical standpoint, I also think that it's worthwhile to address your body mass index. Unless you're a bodybuilding mesomorph, 225 lbs is well into the "obese" category for a person who's 5'4" tall. Given your weight, your family history, and your own history of triple stent placement, you are at greatly increased risk of a cardiac event under water. I highly recommend that you aggressively address your controllable risk factors if you want to continue diving.

Best regards,
DDM

---------- Post Merged at 05:03 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:02 PM ----------

IMHO and with the permission of DDM

Divejones, you don't need anyone's permission to post here, least of all mine!

Best regards,
DDM