Exercise Testing for Ischaemic Heart Disease
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
EXERCISE TESTING FOR ISCHAEMIC HEART DISEASE IN DIVERS
Ischaemic heart disease is the major cause of mortality in middle aged men. A major ischaemic event underwater could prove fatal and endanger a diver’s buddy.
However, the value of screening exercise tests in apparently normal populations has now been largely discredited because of the appreciable false positive and false negative results in such groups. Furthermore we have no control over the quality of equipment or type of standardisation on which the Exercise ECGs on our members would be performed. This only compounds the possibility of false reporting of the test.
Questions in Section A of the medical form enquire about chest pain and other cardiac symptoms. Those with symptoms suggestive of ischaemic heart disease should undergo exercise testing or referral to a local cardiologist as appropriate.
In the case of individuals with a poor family history or hyperlipidaemia but no cardiac symptoms, exercise testing is appropriate, particularly if they smoke, but needs to be interpreted with caution.
Page last modified: 14th Jun 2006 - 16:45:39