I
t’s not unusual for those of us who live in the
Florida Keys to hear through the coconut
telegraph that someone died on a scuba dive.
You might find that surprising because most
of the reefs here are quite shallow (less than
40 feet), the water is clear and warm, and the
dive operations are experienced and professional.
There are deeper shipwrecks to dive, but in the
decades since the
Duane
and
Bibb
were sunk in 1987
(followed later by the
Vandenberg
,
Spiegel Grove
and
others) there have been few fatalities associated with the
specific hazards of shipwreck diving. But diver deaths in
the Keys persist — five in 2013, seven in 2014 and five
again in 2015.
Most likely it is no more than a numbers game. Bob
Holston, president of the Keys Association of Dive
Operators, estimates that a million divers and snorkelers
dive the reefs and wrecks of the Florida Keys each year,
all along the 110-mile island chain that runs from Key
West at the southern tip to Key Largo in the north. So
percentagewise, five to seven fatalities annually perhaps
are not unexpected and may even be quite low. Still, I
couldn’t help but wonder if there is an underlying thread
here. Why do divers die, and what might help them
survive what should be (and usually is) relatively safe and
exciting recreation?
To gain some insight, I spoke to Petar Denoble, M.D.,
D.Sc., vice president of mission at Divers Alert Network,
who said:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for
both men and women. The most common form of
heart disease is coronary heart disease, which causes
myocardial infarction in more than 700,000 people every
year. In many cases myocardial infarction is the first
manifestation of coronary heart disease. A large number of
deaths are caused by cardiac arrest (cessation of beating)
in the absence of any known history of heart disease.
Among the risk factors for coronary heart disease, one
of the most important is lack of exercise. On the other
hand, vigorous exercise may precipitate death in people
unaccustomed to exercise of such intensity. Divers may
encounter circumstances that require bouts of vigorous
exercise, and if they are not accustomed to it, they are at
risk. Cardiac death occurs in about one-third of all scuba
diving fatalities, and the rates increase with age. For divers
to mitigate the risk of an unwanted cardiac event while
diving, the best approach is to maintain a healthy lifestyle
and exercise regularly, including bouts of vigorous exercise.
With that as background I thought about the dives
I’ve done in which circumstances required bouts of
vigorous exercise. I tend not to purposely go diving
when the winds are blowing 25 knots and the seas are
running 6-8 feet, but I have been on assignments where
deadlines trumped my better judgment, and I’ve dived
in those sorts of conditions. Recreational divers no
doubt have made similar decisions while drinking their
morning coffee in the lee of the prevailing wind, having
no concept of the conditions that might be awaiting
them a few miles offshore.
Fit To Dive?
By Stephen Frink
12
|
WINTER 2016
FROM THE SAFETY STOP
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
BOB COAKLEY
JIM BOILINI