how can someone die in 5 minutes from an air embolishism after diving 28 feet down and then shooting straight?

Question

Hello1 My sister died in 2002 from an acute air embolism from scuba diving 28 feet down and then shooting straight up because her equipment failed and she had a sinus and ear infection. It killed her in 5-7 minutes, from what the reports say--brain dead. Could someone please let me know how this could happen when she was an advancd diver and knew what to do. any master divers out there can help me? thank you! Darren K. Romitti [e-mail]

Answer 1

You can't dive 28 feet down then shoot straight up!

It doesn't matter if you have the proper gear or not.

Your lungs have to acclimate to the right pressure as you go down and come back up.

When you dive, the deeper you go, the more pressure there is on your lungs. As you swim back up, your lungs decompress. Therefore if you go up too fast, your lungs will blow up.

That is most likely what happened to your sister. If her equipment malfunctioned, she probably panicked and quickly swam back up for air (which is the #1 reaction divers make when they panic).

The lack of oxygen flowing to her brain rendered her "brain dead."

It's a sad situation, but it's the risks that come with diving.

I'm sorry for your loss.

Answer 2

A few rules broken here, and as an advanced (or even novice) diver, she would have known about them. Diving is dangerous, and the rules are serious. She certainly should not have been diving with a sinus or ear infection, but I don't see that as being contributory. She should not have been diving alone; her dive buddy would have had a spare regulator ready to use in the event of equipment failure. (By the way, this equipment almost never fails, it's usually user error, like forgetting to turn on the tank valve - there is enough air in the pipe to get down there and then realize there is no more air coming through. In fact a regulator is designed so that it free-flows in the event of failure). If you do have to surface quickly, you come up shouting all the way, to expel as much air as you can.
The reason is that a scuba regulator (the bit in your mouth) is designed to deliver air at ambient pressure. Ambient pressure at 28 ft is almost double the air pressure at sea-level. As she surfaced quickly the air bubbles in her body, in her veins and arteries, rapidly doubled in volume. Just like being injected with a syringe-full of air. Sorry.

Answer 3

Sorry on your loss. i'm no longer a diver, so I do locate it unusual that it happened with in trouble-free terms a 28 foot dive. i presumed one had to dive deep to get 'the bends'. i'm hoping you detect the answer or atleast an evidence of why this happened. Exert from link below: Air embolism. Bubble(s) of air or different gases that enter the circulation and holiday to the lungs, heart or techniques. There, they block wide-spread blood circulate and reason life-threatening clinical emergencies. Air embolisms are a top-rated reason for loss of life in scuba diving injuries (a concern noted as “the bends”) and may additionally take place for the time of surgical procedures concerning the pinnacle and neck, besides as vaginal delivery or cesarean sections (“C-area”).

Answer 4

If she was an advanced diver she would have known NOT TO DIVE WITH SINUS OR EAR INFECTIONS.


You also say her equipment failed, well there you go, there's the cause of death.

Answer 5

Sounds like air in the ventricles of the heart, from a rapid accent to the surface. It happens all the time. Also prevents blood from circulating properly with CPR.