Diving & DVT
Hi all,
I appreciate your thoughts on medical fitness to dive with a DVT, or after resolution of a DVT.
A female member of my dive club recently developed a DVT 12 hours after a long-haul flight. She has just started warfarin. She is in her thirties, on oroxine for hypothyroidism and otherwise fit and well.
In terms of fitness to dive, I presume it wouldn't be a good idea to dive whilst the DVT is present and she is taking warfarin. (increased bleeding risk with blunt trauma and barotrauma, also I would worry about aggravation of DVT and PE risk)
After resolution of the clot, and she is off warfarin, I would presume she is OK to return to diving?
Any thoughts of diving with a DVT and on anti-coagulants?
Thanks
Jacqui
Hi Jacqui,
Two issues here: 1) movement of the DVT with the activity and 2) anticoagulation.
The issue with anticoagulation is that there are several papers that looked at spinal cord damage secodnary to bubble injury and a lot fo them had petechial haemorrhage as part of their presenting features both macro and m,icroscopically. Anticoagulation could only make that worse and potentially worsen existing symptoms or create extension of the damage.
People with DVT should probably not be going around without anticoagulation so see above but also there are significant dynamic forces in diving that may loosen the clot and turn the DVT into a PE.
So on both accounts I would not recommend diving.
After DVT, should not be an issue unless there is an associated PE and then the issues with possible lung scarring come into play.
Suggest that she should put a specific emphasis on hydration and use mechanical devices for long flights to diving locations (like TED stockings or mechanical calf compressors).
Regards Glen
Thanks for that Glen. I'll pass on the info.
