Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities - Divers Alert ...

vacuum test on residual contents showed thecontents had 13 percent oxygen, with theremainder being nitrogen and helium. A smallsticker on the tank designated the contents as100 percent helium. The tank had been filledmonths prior to the dive, according to aninvestigative report. A hypoxic breathing mixcombined with ischemic heart disease to causethis death. Contributing factors/significantdiagnoses included coronary atherosclerosis,left ventricular hypertrophy and focalmyocardial scarring.01-38 Insulin-requiring diabetic with severecoronary artery diseaseCause of Death: Drowning due to cardiacdysrhythmia and coronary atherosclerosisThis 48-year-old male had received his initialopen-water certification six months earlier.His medical history included insulin-requiringdiabetes mellitus and he had been recentlyhospitalized after suffering a seizure. Thedecedent made a dive to 40 fsw (12 msw) for35 minutes and lost consciousness on the surfaceduring the swim back to shore. He complainedof shortness of breath prior to losingconsciousness. Resuscitation efforts wereunsuccessful. The autopsy disclosed severecoronary artery disease with near-total occlusionof the major coronary arteries.Contributing factors/significant diagnosesincluded diabetes mellitus and tobacco abuse.01-39 Experienced diver with severecoronary artery disease was separated frombuddyCause of Death: Drowning due to cardiacdysrhythmia and coronary atherosclerosisThis 59-year-old male was an experienceddiver with open-water certification. He madea shore entry dive to 10 fsw (3 msw) with abuddy and they quickly became separated.The decedent was found unconscious on thebottom, and resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.The autopsy disclosed evidence ofsevere coronary artery disease and previousmyocardial infarcts. An inspection of theequipment revealed that the autoinflator hoseon the decedent’s buoyancy compensator wasnot attached. Contributing factors/significantdiagnoses included myocardial scarring andtobacco abuse.01-41 Inexperienced, poor-conditioned diverwith heart disease, lost consciousness onsurfaceCause of Death: Drowning due to cardiacdysrhythmia and coronary atherosclerosisThis 55-year-old male had initial open-watercertification and five lifetime dives. He was ona liveaboard and made a dive to 85 fsw (25.5msw) for 30 minutes. The diver had somebuoyancy problems, but he and his buddy hada fairly uneventful dive. He and his buddyseparated on ascent, but witnesses on the boatsaw him surface and signal for pick-up withhis signal sausage. The decedent lost consciousnesswhile waiting to be picked up. Thediver’s size (he was morbidly obese) madegetting him back into the boat extremely difficultand time-consuming. There were severalmedical personnel among the divers on theboat, but the diver could not be resuscitated.The autopsy disclosed coronary atherosclerosisand a large heart, as well as tunneling ofthe left anterior descending coronary artery.The death was attributed to drowning due toa cardiac event. Contributing factors/significantdiagnoses included cardiomegaly, obesity,hypertension and fatty liver.01-66 Open-water student with coronarydisease separated from group and foundnear bottomCause of Death: Drowning due to cardiacdysrhythmia and coronary atherosclerosisThis 40-year-old male was a student in an initialopen-water certification class. Witnessesrecall the decedent being a little apprehensiveprior to the dive. A total of six divers enteredDAN’s <strong>Report</strong> on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration: 2003 Edition 115