Lars Eichhorn, Dieter Leyk
BACKGROUND: Diving is a popular sport, and some recreational divers have medical risk factors. Their health can be endangered by high extracorporeal (ambient) pressure and its many systemic effects. METHODS: We review relevant publications on free (breath-hold) diving, scuba diving, medical evaluation for diving, barotrauma, decompression sickness, and diving with medical risk factors, which were retrieved by a selective search of PubMed. RESULTS: Free diving or scuba diving, even at seemingly innocuous depths, puts considerable stress on the cardio - vascular system, ears, and lungs...
February 27, 2015: Deutsches Ärzteblatt International