Breath-Hold Diving – The Physiology of Diving Deep and Returning

Breath-hold diving involves highly integrative physiology and extreme responses to both exercise and asphyxia during progressive elevations in hydrostatic pressure. With astonishing depth records exceeding 100 m, and up to 214 m on a single breath, the human capacity for deep breath-hold diving continues to refute expectations. The physiological challenges and responses occurring during a deep dive highlight the coordinated interplay of oxygen conservation, exercise economy, and hyperbaric management. In this review, the physiology of deep diving is portrayed as it occurs across the phases of a dive: the first 20 m; passive descent; maximal depth; ascent; last 10 m, and surfacing. The acute risks of diving (i.e., pulmonary barotrauma, nitrogen narcosis, and decompression sickness) and the potential long-term medical consequences to breath-hold diving are summarized, and an emphasis on future areas of research of this unique field of physiological adaptation are provided.

Download Full-text

Sports-related lung injury during breath-hold diving

European Respiratory Review ◽

10.1183/16000617.0052-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 25 (142) ◽

pp. 506-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Tanja Mijacika ◽

Zeljko Dujic

Keyword(s):

Lung Injury ◽

Lung Damage ◽

Strenuous Exercise ◽

Alveolar Haemorrhage ◽

Breath Holding ◽

Breath Hold ◽

Pulmonary Barotrauma ◽

Large Populations ◽

Acute And Chronic Effects

The number of people practising recreational breath-hold diving is constantly growing, thereby increasing the need for knowledge of the acute and chronic effects such a sport could have on the health of participants. Breath-hold diving is potentially dangerous, mainly because of associated extreme environmental factors such as increased hydrostatic pressure, hypoxia, hypercapnia, hypothermia and strenuous exercise.In this article we focus on the effects of breath-hold diving on pulmonary function. Respiratory symptoms have been reported in almost 25% of breath-hold divers after repetitive diving sessions. Acutely, repetitive breath-hold diving may result in increased transpulmonary capillary pressure, leading to noncardiogenic oedema and/or alveolar haemorrhage. Furthermore, during a breath-hold dive, the chest and lungs are compressed by the increasing pressure of water. Rapid changes in lung air volume during descent or ascent can result in a lung injury known as pulmonary barotrauma. Factors that may influence individual susceptibility to breath-hold diving-induced lung injury range from underlying pulmonary or cardiac dysfunction to genetic predisposition.According to the available data, breath-holding does not result in chronic lung injury. However, studies of large populations of breath-hold divers are necessary to firmly exclude long-term lung damage.

Download Full-text

Effects of deep diving on the trachea of the leatherback turtle

10.33178/boolean.2010.27 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 119-124

Author(s):

Colm Murphy

Keyword(s):

Material Properties ◽

Deep Sea ◽

Complete Understanding ◽

Leatherback Turtles ◽

Leatherback Turtle ◽

Deep Dive ◽

Deep Diving ◽

Leading Role ◽

Term Objective

This work is concerned with the effects of deep sea diving on the trachea (airway passage) of the leatherback turtle. Leatherback turtles are capable of diving to depths greater than 1,200 meters. Humans, in comparison, may only reach depths of around 30 meters unaided. It is believed that the response of the trachea along with its material properties plays a leading role in determining the depth that can be attained during a dive. The long term objective of this research is to investigate the response of the trachea of the leatherback turtle during deep dives (300-1250m). Questions remain as to the material properties from which the trachea is composed of and how exactly does the trachea respond as it undergoes a deep dive. Answering these questions will help not only to build a complete understanding of the leatherback’s ability to dive to depths greater than 1,000m, but will also inform ...

Download Full-text

Application of near-infrared spectroscopy in human elite freedivers while deep diving on a single breath hold

10.1117/12.2615370 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alexander Ruesch ◽

J. Chris McKnight ◽

Eric Mulder ◽

Jingyi Wu ◽

Steve Balfour ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Breath Hold ◽

Deep Diving ◽

Single Breath ◽

Single Breath Hold

Download Full-text

Liver fat quantitation at 3T using a single breath hold multi-echo sequence

RöFo - Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der Röntgenstrahlen und der bildgebenden Verfahren ◽

10.1055/s-0029-1246595 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 182 (01) ◽

Author(s):

MK Ivancevic ◽

J Smink ◽

HK Hussain ◽

TL Chenevert

Keyword(s):

Liver Fat ◽

Breath Hold ◽

Single Breath ◽

Single Breath Hold

Download Full-text

Genauigkeit von Single-Breath-Hold vs. Non-Breath-Hold Compressed-Sensing Kardio-MRT Datensätzen für die LV-Volumetrie

RöFo - Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der Röntgenstrahlen und der bildgebenden Verfahren ◽

10.1055/s-0035-1550809 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 187 (S 01) ◽

Author(s):

S Sudarski ◽

H Haubenreisser ◽

C Dösch ◽

S Haneder ◽

T Henzler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Compressed Sensing ◽

Breath Hold ◽

Single Breath ◽

Single Breath Hold

Download Full-text

Hyperbaric treatment of air or gas embolism: current recommendations

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine ◽

10.22462/10.12.2019.13 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 673-683

Author(s):

Richard E. Moon ◽

Keyword(s):

Animal Studies ◽

Decompression Sickness ◽

Bubble Formation ◽

Endothelial Damage ◽

Neurological Deficits ◽

Breath Hold ◽

Gas Embolism ◽

Hyperbaric Treatment ◽

Pulmonary Capillaries ◽

Venous Gas Embolism

Gas can enter arteries (arterial gas embolism, AGE) due to alveolar-capillary disruption (caused by pulmonary over-pressurization, e.g. breath-hold ascent by divers) or veins (venous gas embolism, VGE) as a result of tissue bubble formation due to decompression (diving, altitude exposure) or during certain surgical procedures where capillary hydrostatic pressure at the incision site is subatmospheric. Both AGE and VGE can be caused by iatrogenic gas injection. AGE usually produces stroke-like manifestations, such as impaired consciousness, confusion, seizures and focal neurological deficits. Small amounts of VGE are often tolerated due to filtration by pulmonary capillaries; however VGE can cause pulmonary edema, cardiac “vapor lock” and AGE due to transpulmonary passage or right-to-left shunt through a patient foramen ovale. Intravascular gas can cause arterial obstruction or endothelial damage and secondary vasospasm and capillary leak. Vascular gas is frequently not visible with radiographic imaging, which should not be used to exclude the diagnosis of AGE. Isolated VGE usually requires no treatment; AGE treatment is similar to decompression sickness (DCS), with first aid oxygen then hyperbaric oxygen. Although cerebral AGE (CAGE) often causes intracranial hypertension, animal studies have failed to demonstrate a benefit of induced hypocapnia. An evidence-based review of adjunctive therapies is presented.

Download Full-text

Prediction of signs/symptoms of decompression sickness following submarine tower escape

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine ◽

10.22462/01.03.2019.3 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 17-33

Author(s):

Joel Edney ◽

Geoffrey Loveman ◽

Fiona Seddon ◽

Julian Thacker ◽

Karen Jurd ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass ◽

Marked Effect ◽

Decompression Sickness ◽

Outcome Data ◽

Calibration Data ◽

Limb Pain ◽

Pulmonary Barotrauma ◽

Escape Depth ◽

Different Types ◽

Risk Curves

Crew survival in a distressed submarine (DISSUB) scenario may be enhanced by the knowledge of the risks of different types of decompression sickness (DCS) should the crew attempt tower escape. Four models were generated through calibration against DCS outcome data from 3,919 pressure exposures, each for the prediction of one of four categories of DCS: neurological, limb pain, respiratory and cutaneous. The calibration data contained details of human, goat, sheep and pig exposures to raised pressure while breathing air or oxygen/nitrogen mixtures. No exposures had substantial staged decompression or cases of suspected pulmonary barotrauma. DCS risk was scaled between species and with body mass. A parameter was introduced to account for the possibility of the occurrence of some symptom types masking others. The calibrated models were used to estimate likelihood of DCS occurrence for each symptom category following submarine tower escape. Escape depth was found to have a marked effect only on predicted rates of neurological DCS. Saturation at raised internal DISSUB pressure prior to escape was found to affect predicted rates of all symptom types. The iso-risk curves presented are offered as guidance to submarine crews and rescue forces in preparation for, or in the event of, a DISSUB scenario.

Download Full-text