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I thought I'd post the following information regarding PFO and decompressions sickness as I came across it the other day coincidently with the developing thread in this list. I don't pretend to support it as gospel truth but it is worth considering when talking about PFO and prediposing factors for decompression sickness. One study indicate that the presence of a patent foramen oval (PFO) does not necesarily predispose a diver to decompression sickness. In a study of 87 divers (Cross et al., 1992*) who had not had any form of decompression sickness (NB this study was conducted in 1992 and may not have recognised more current forms of decompression sickness eg. extreme fatigue), 24 divers were found to have a PFO (~31%). A PFO is found in about 27% of the population. It was especially noted that one subject (a professional diver) had a large right to left shunt and have never experienced decompression sickness. He had been diving for 30 yrs including some time with the Royal navy and had conducted 637 dives with compressed air to a max. depth of 60m, 141 closed circuit oxygen dives, 327 with N2/O2, 14 surface oriented dives to 100m with He/O2 and 47 bell dives to 180m with He/O2. All the divers used convential deco tables or computers. Some even admitted to having preformed dives with factors they suggested may have increased their risk of developing decompression sickness. While this is only one study and having only examined divers without a history of decompression sickness does limit its views, at least it does indicate that the presence of a PFO may not be a direct predisposing factor to decompression sickness. *Cross, S.J. Evans,S.A, Thomson, L.F., Lee, H.S., Jennings, K.P. & Shields, T.G. (1992) Safety of subaqua diving with patent foramen ovale. British Medical journal 304: 481-482 Phil Davies -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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