Study about blackouts

[trux]

I just found this study, but unfortunately the abstract reveals very little, so it is not clear whether the study shows something new or interesting. If anyone with access to the full text could refer on it, it would be appreciated.

Syncope in the hyperbaric environment

The ever larger number of individuals who practice breath-hold diving suggests an increased need to understand the potential consequences of these sports activities. In this setting, syncope in hyperbaric environment represents a peculiar condition that goes beyond the common classifications of syncope. The pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie its etiology are complex and involve several reflexes that are triggered in these circumstances. Prevention of syncope in apnea divers requires a deep understanding of its pathophysiological mechanisms with inherent preventive measures on behalf of both cardiologists and sports cardiologists.

 

[Simos]

Hmm sounds important - at least for some... Is it common for apnea to cause a syncope?

Maybe if you email one of the authors, U Berrettini, he will send it to you Trux. His email is on that page...
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[trux]

Well, you see usually several syncopes (blackouts) at every competition, so I'd tell that it is relatively common.

 

[Erki]

It seems to be a local journal and this paper could be even a conference abstracts. I didn't find any link for the full text. Authors are then the only opportiunity.

 

[Simos]

Thanks Trux - I misinterpreted the word 'syncope' to do with cardiac arrest (sorry means something else in my native language - well it just means 'arrest' but it's commonly used for cardiac arrest).

Makes more sense to mean 'blackout' in this context although I don't fully get why a paper is needed - I thought it's pretty simple: you hold your breath for too long, you black out

 

[trux]

In fact I do not know whether they mean a blackout with cardiac arrest or not. In French "syncope" is used for a common blackout. And I also do not know whether the study speaks only about syncopes/blackouts in depth, or also during/after the ascent. That's why I asked whether somebody has read it.

Otherwise studies on blackouts are needed. There are are numerous factors involved, and especially in changing hyperbaric conditions, the involved mechanism are rather complex. So better understanding or quantifying individual effects, and symptoms may be valuable.

 

[Simos]

I think you are right Trux, must mean blackout... Makes more sense!

Was half joking about not needing the study - just meant that the real physiological reasons are usually so complex that while they make interesting reading, in practise it's easier to treat the whole mechanism as a black box and rely on some common sense/good practises to avoid blackouts. But I am talking more about recreational Freediving, things are different for competitive... I wonder who the subjects of those studies were...
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