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

Question

Hello! 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

I had FES (Fat Embolism Syndrome) from an auto accident and the result is my heart condition today.

Embolism can kill a person quickly. All it takes is air, oil, or fat to clog the blood vessels to the lungs; block the blood to the heart; and/or blood flow to the brain. Death can occur in but 4 minutes.

What happens in a quick death the bubbles act like a barrier that blocks oxygenated and non-oxygenated blood from getting past the lungs/heart/brain. Starved, the body will die. They drown by these tiny droplets.

In the non instant death variations of embolism, the consequences can equally deadly over time (some die 7 days after wards suddenly).

I was in the hospital for a month due to FES fighting for my life. The mortality is about 10% to 30%, so it is serious. Divers need to be careful and treat it worse than getting the Bends (it's very similar, and both go hand-in-hand in the Bends deaths).

Sorry that your sister died, but if it's any comfort, there's no discomfort. Just incredible tiredness.

Answer 2

Sorry for your loss. I am not a diver, so I do find it strange that it happened with only a 28 foot dive. I thought one had to dive deep to get 'the bends'. I hope you find the answer or atleast an explanation of why this happened.

Exert from link below:
Air embolism. Bubble(s) of air or other gases that enter the circulation and travel to the lungs, heart or brain. There, they block normal blood flow and cause life-threatening medical emergencies. Air embolisms are a leading cause of death in scuba diving accidents (a condition called “the bends”) and can also occur during surgeries involving the head and neck, as well as vaginal delivery or cesarean sections (“C-section”).

Answer 3

Yes, the bubbles formed in her blood can kill.
Quite rare that she died in such a short time but possible.
Most diving spot have pressure chamber for emergency use, usually, if someone suffer from air embolism, there are still time to move her into a pressure chamber and de-pressure slowly.
Sinus and ear infection can easily be treated and will not kill.

Answer 4

Kaisson`s disease. Deep under water air pressure is high . Suddenly when one comes from high pressure to low pressure area it is something like uncorking a strong soda bottle after shaking it., also similar to ceremonious opening of champaigne bottle. Air compressed in lungs spreads into blood through pulmonary vessels. . Air embolism results and death can be instantaneous. Navy divers or submariners are advised and trained to take time to come to water surface.

Answer 5

some guidelines damaged the following, and as a complicated (or perhaps amateur) diver, she might want to have effortless about them. Diving is risky, and the guidelines are severe. She actually might want to not were diving with a sinus or ear an infection, yet i do not see that as being contributory. She might want to not were diving on my own; her dive chum might want to have had a spare regulator waiting to apply contained in the fashion of kit failure. (by employing the way, this kit really a lot under no circumstances fails, this is consistently person blunders, like forgetting to demonstrate on the tank valve - there is adequate air contained in the pipe to get down there and then comprehend there's no extra air coming by. in reality a regulator is designed so as that it loose-flows contained in the fashion of failure). in case you do ought to floor quickly, you come back up shouting each and every of ways, to expel as a lot air as you may. the reason being that a scuba regulator (the bit on your mouth) is designed to provide air at ambient stress. Ambient stress at 28 ft is really a lot double the air stress at sea-element. As she surfaced quickly the air bubbles in her body, in her veins and arteries, instantly doubled in volume. the picture of being injected with a syringe-finished of air. Sorry.

Answer 6

Going from the high pressure to the low pressure causes bubbles in the blood. Sometimes I guess people just panic even when they're experienced. I'm sorry about your sister.

Answer 7

its called the bends when she came up to fast co2 gathers in the blood in little pockets her ears would of ruptured and yes people have died although it was only 28 feet after shooting out to get up they should of decompressed her immediately im sorry for your lose

Answer 8

Dive operations are dangerous, no matter what the depth, I'm sorry to hear about your sister.