PFOs and DCS

04/24/21 • 21 min

Interview with Cardiologist Doug Ebersole MD talks about PFOs (Patent Foramen Ovale) which is a suspected risk factor for DCS (Decompression Sickness). PFO is a relatively benign cardiac defect that creates a passage in a wall that normally separates the left and right upper chambers of the heart. PFO is found in about 25 percent of adults. If gas bubbles form after a dive, the venous bloodstream will carry them to the right side of the heart. In divers with PFO, the bubbles could pass through the opening, bypassing the lungs and theoretically putting the diver at an increased risk of decompression sickness (DCS). For info about the study. https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/study-update-pfo/

Previous Episode

Ecology of the Underwater Caves of the Rivera Maya

Sub Surface Ecology in the Underwater Caves of the Rivera Maya Interview with Dr David Brankovits PhD about the cave ecology and the food web in the underwater caves of the Yucatan Peninsula. Dr Brankovits is a Cave Diver and Biogeochemist. In his aquatic cave field work, he has made important discoveries of the food webs of underwater caves. He is currently working at Texas A&M University. Also he an expert in Marina Chemistry and an investigator for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His paper on anchialine fauna from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, can downloaded here: