Diving with a heart pacemaker

[HW "Skip" Weldon]

Does anyone out there have any experience with divers who had a heart
pacemaker?

-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

[Greg Mossman]

On Jun 3, 2:19 pm, "HW \"Skip\" Weldon"

<skip5700removet...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Does anyone out there have any experience with divers who had a heart
> pacemaker?

Not personally.

"Generally, people requiring pacemakers should not dive because of
their basic heart condition. Occasionally there are individuals with
certain arrhythmias who have pacemakers who may dive. If no other
heart disease is present, and the pacemaker is tested against pressure
up to 130 feet and exercise tolerance is good, you might be able to
dive. However, there are pacemakers that increase their rate when
pressure is applied to the generator case, resulting in a heart rate
inappropriate to the demand."

http://www.scuba-doc.com/Q&A.html#Can_I_Dive_With_a_Pacemaker_

[Dillon Pyron]

[Default] Thus spake "HW \"Skip\" Weldon"
<skip5700r...@hotmail.com>:

I called DAN on this about 4 years ago. They strongly, very strongly,
recommend against it. Not only is the diver cardiovascularly
comprimised, but the pacer really isn't qualified for more than 1/2
atm. Pacer PTs are recommended to not go above 10,000 ft. Many of
the more modern pacemakers are capable of dealing with the stresses
involved with diving, but most docs don't like heavy exercise. Walking
and light weights, yes. Triathalon, no.