Cardiovascular Disease and the Risk of Diving: Narrative Review

In recent decades, diving has been introduced as a professional occupation that is performed in addition to industrial, research and military filed, as well as for sports and recreation. In diving, the physical ability of the body is very important and this importance is more evident in professional diving. In this review study, research on cardiovascular diseases and their relationship with physical activity, as well as diving and the possible stressors of the diving environment are reviewed. Findings show that factors such as physical strength, age, cardiovascular disease can affect safe diving. However, people with cardiovascular diseases are able to dive due to environmental factors such as pressure, heat stress (usually cold stress), and water flow, but there are some cautions for them. Considering that cardiovascular diseases are the third most common cause of death while diving; the cooperation of diving physicians and cardiologists, as well as having accurate information about the disease status and tolerance of environmental factors by a person with cardiovascular disease, as well as a proper understanding of the diving environment is essential for safe diving of these people