PFOs and DCS

Interview with Cardiologist Doug Ebersole MD talks about PFOs (Patent Foramen Ovale) which is a suspected risk factor for DCS (Decompression Sickness). PFO is a relatively benign cardiac defect that creates a passage in a wall that normally separates the left and right upper chambers of the heart. PFO is found in about 25 percent of adults. If gas bubbles form after a dive, the venous bloodstream will carry them to the right side of the heart. In divers with PFO, the bubbles could pass through the opening, bypassing the lungs and theoretically putting the diver at an increased risk of decompression sickness (DCS). For info about the study. https://dan.org/alert-diver/article/study-update-pfo/