What causes most scuba diving accidents? We've
got our hands on some research into scuba diving accidents.
Explanation of terms :
Drowning:" Unaccounted for drowning
/ diver error "
Arterial Gas Embolism: Caused most often
by the expansion of respiratory gases during ascent, it also
occurs when the breath is held during ascent from a dive,
when there is local pulmonary pathology, when there is dynamic
airway collapse in the non-cartilaginous airways and if there
is low pulmonary compliance, particularly if this is not distributed
evenly throughout the lungs.
Cardiac Incident: Heart attack / stroke "
Trauma: Injury sustained while diving
DCS: Refers to decompression sickness / illness
Loss of consciousness: Unexplained loss of
consciousness while diving
Inappropriate Gas: Incorrect gas mix was
cause of death A new report says that common causes of Open-Circuit
Recreational Diving Fatalities examined 947 recreational diving
fatalities between 1992 and 2003. According to Dr. P.J. Denoble
that looking at these cases over a long period of time allowed
them to see patterns, not just in the causes of death (COD)
but in the events leading up to the deaths of these divers.
Drowning was the COD in 70% less of cases, but that proved
less important statistically than the disabling injuries that
caused the divers to drown, and 88% of the cases involved
one of three disabling injuries.
How can I be a safer diver?
Over half of these diving accidents were
caused by a cardiac incident or Arterial Gas Embolism. Your
heart and circulatory system are more important in diving
than in most sports, so it's a good idea to make your heart
is in good condition before diving. Before jumping in the
water, get yourself heart-smart with the following F.I.T formula
to make sure you get the right frequency, intensity and time
in your exercise routine.
Frequency: For best cardiovascular fitness,
do aerobic exercise 5 to 7 days per week. Walking, jogging,
and biking are great outdoor exercises; cardio machines like
treadmills, elliptical and stationary bikes are also best
ways for indoor routine.
Intensity: Ensure you heart works at the
correct intensity during aerobic session. Subtract your age
from 220 to find your estimated maximum heart rate in beats
per minute (BPM). Your target heart rates should be from 50
to 80% of your maximum BPM. So multiply your maximum heart
rate by 0.5, and again by 0.80 to get your target heart rate
range. When you do your exercise make sure you check your
pulse periodically to ensure your BPM stays within the range.
Time: Each aerobic workout session should
last 30 to 45 minutes to get the maximum cardiovascular benefit,
but it?s ok to break your sessions into segments. Try two
or three 15 minutes intervals with a break in between them.
Always remember the golden rule of scuba diving:
Don't hold your breath! Scuba diving
is still an incredibly safe sport when done properly, with
an fatal accident rate of approximately 1 death per 200,000
dives. This would mean to even be inside the chances of having
a fatal accident, statistically you'd have to dive 12 times
a day, every day, from the age of 18 years old to 65 years
old: No breaks!
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