Free Diving and Shallow Water Blackout
SHALLOW WATER BLACKOUT (Latent hypoxia)
is the sudden loss of consciousness caused by oxygen starvation
a breath holding dive. This was first described by S. Miles as "latent
hypoxia", shallow water blackout is the term he ascribed to unexplained
loss of consciousness in divers using closed-circuit oxygen breathing
at shallow depths. Unconsciousness strikes most commonly within 15 feet
(five meters) of the surface, where expanding, oxygen-hungry lungs
suck oxygen from the divers blood. Once you lose consciousness you are
likely to drown.
The blackout occurs quickly, insidiously and without warning. The
victims of this condition die without any idea of their impending death.
are about 7000
in the U.S. annually - many of whom are good swimmers. Craig, in 1976
interviews of survivors of near drowning. All had hyperventilated prior
to the swim, had the urge to breathe, and had no warning of the
unconsciousness. Hyperventilation is used by free divers to reduce the
of CO2 and extend the length of breath-holding.
of their lack of adaptation, are not generally subject to this
condition. It is the intermediate diver who is most at risk. He is in
accelerated phase of training, and his physical and mental adaptations
allow him to dive deeper and longer with each new diving day- sometimes
too deep or too long. Advanced divers are not immune.
that produce latent hypoxia (Shallow water blackout)
Hyperventilation is the practice of excessive breathing with an increase in the rate of respiration or an increase in the depth of respiration, or both. This will not store extra oxygen. On the contrary, if practiced too vigorously, it will actually rob the body of oxygen. The magical benefit of hyperventilation is what it does to carbon dioxide levels in the blood. Rapid or deep breathing reduces carbon dioxide levels rapidly. It is high levels of carbon dioxide, not low levels of oxygen, that stimulate the need to breathe.
The beginning diver is
sensitive to carbon dioxide levels. These levels build even with a
of 15 seconds, causing the lungs to feel on fire. The trained diver has
blown off massive amounts of carbon dioxide with hyperventilation, thus
outsmarting the brain's breathing center. Normally metabolizing body
producing carbon dioxide at a regular rate, do not replace enough
dioxide to stimulate this breathing center until the body is seriously
short of oxygen.
Hyperventilation causes some central nervous system changes as well. Practiced to excess, it causes decreased cerebral blood flow, dizziness and muscle cramping in the arms and legs. But moderate degrees of hyperventilation can cause a state of euphoria and well-being. This can lead to overconfidence and the dramatic consequence of a body performing too long without a breath: blackout.
Pressure changes in the freediver's descent-ascent cycle conspire to rob him of oxygen as he nears the surface by the mechanism of partial pressures. Gas levels, namely oxygen and carbon dioxide, are continuously balancing themselves in the body. Gases balance between the lungs and body tissues. The body draws oxygen from the lungs as it requires. The oxygen concentration in the lungs of a descending diver increases because of the increasing water pressure.
As the brain and
use oxygen, more oxygen is available from the lungs while he is still
This all works well as long as there is oxygen in the lungs and the
remains at his descended level. The problem is in ascent. The
lungs of the ascending diver increase in volume as the water pressure
and this results in a rapid decrease of oxygen in the lungs to critical
levels. The balance that forced oxygen into the body is now reversed.
is most pronounced in the last 10 to 15 feet below the surface, where
greatest relative lung expansion occurs. This is where unconsciousness
frequently happens. The blackout is instantaneous and without warning.
It is the result of a critically low level of oxygen, which in effect,
switches off the brain.
Dalton's Law of partial pressures applies. (Pb - PO2 + PN2 + Pother gases.)
As Pb decreases, the partial pressures of all component gases decrease in the same ratio. The hypoxia of predive hyperventilation is corrected by an increased PO2 during descent.
During descent, the lung volume decreases due to chest compression, resulting in increased lung PO2, PCO2 and PN2.
In addition to the changes due to the Physics of Dalton's Law, there are other physiological changes that take effect during shallow water blackout and free diving.
The human body is capable of remarkable adaptations to the underwater environment. Even untrained divers will show a dramatic slowing of the heart when immersed. This is commonly referred to as the diving reflex. Immersion of the face in cold water causes the heart to slow automatically. Chest compression can also slow the heart. Untrained divers can experience up to a 40 percent drop in heart rate. Trained divers can produce an even lower heart rate some can slow to an incredible 20 beats per minute.
Trained free divers develop several other physiological adaptations that lead to deeper and longer dives. The spleen, acting as a blood reservoir, assists trained divers in increasing their performance. Apparently their spleen shrinks while diving, causing a release of extra blood cells.
According to William E. Hurford M.D., and co-authors writing in The Journal of Applied Physiology, the spleens of the Japanese Ama divers (professional women shellfish free divers) they studied decreased in size by 20 percent when they dove. At the same time their hemoglobin concentration increased by 10 percent (Volume 69, pages 932-936, 1990).
This adaptation, similar to one observed in marine mammals (the Weddell seals' blood cell concentration increases by up to 65 percent), could increase the divers ability to take up oxygen at the surface. It could also increase oxygen delivery to critical tissues during the dive.
contraction and the resultant release of red cells is not immediate- it
starts taking effect after a quarter-hour of sustained diving. This
adaptation, as well as other physiologic changes, probably take a
for full effect. This might account for the increased performance
free divers notice after their first half-hour of diving, and also may
be one of the causes of unexplained heart failure in the diver with a
line heart condition.
There are other known
blood vessels in the skin contract under conditions of low oxygen in
to leave more blood available for important organs, namely the heart,
and muscles. Changes in blood chemistry allow the body to carry and use
oxygen more efficiently. These changes, in effect, squeeze the last
of available oxygen from nonessential organs. Most importantly, the
mind adapts to longer periods of apnea (no breathing). He can ignore,
longer periods of time, his internal voice that requires him to breathe.
Shallow-water blackout was a hot research topic for diving physicians in the 1960s, when they worked out the basic physiology described above. They also studied the case histories of SWB victims, identifying several factors that can contribute to this condition. These include hyperventilation, exercise, a competitive personality, a focused mind-set and youth.
The use of hyperventilation in preparation for freediving is controversial. No one disagrees that prolonged hyperventilation, after minutes of vigorous breathing accompanied by dizziness and tingling in the arms and legs, is dangerous. Some diving physicians believe that any hyperventilation is deadly because of the variation in effects among individuals and on one person, from one time to another. Other physicians, studying professional freedivers such as the Ama divers of Japan, found that they routinely hyperventilated mildly and took a deep breath before descending. Their hyperventilation is very mild; they limit it by pursed lip breathing before a dive.
Probably the best approach can be found in the U.S. Navy Diving Manual (Volume 1, Air Diving), which states: Hyperventilation with air before a skindive is almost standard procedure and is reasonably safe if it is not carried too far. Hyperventilation with air should not be continued beyond three to four breaths, and the diver should start to surface as soon as he notices a definite urge to resume breathing.
Learn the deadly effects of exercise underwater and plan to deal with this situation.
Freedivers learn to prolong their dives by profoundly relaxing their muscles (see the section on deep diving). Most divers make minimal use of their muscles except when they fight a fish or free an anchor. A physician writing in an Australian medical journal found a common scenario for diving deaths in Australia is the experienced diver with weight belt on, speargun fired.
that many pool deaths, classified as drownings, are really the result
shallow-water blackout. Most occur in male adolescents and young adults
attempting competitive endurance breath-holding, frequently on a dare.
Drowning victims, especially children, have been resuscitated from long
periods of immersion in cold water 30 minutes or more. The same is not
true for victims blacking out in warm-water swimming pools. Warm water
hastens death by allowing tissues, especially brain tissues, to
metabolizing rapidly; without oxygen, irreversible cell damage occurs
Reference: Hong, SK. 1990. Breath-Hold Diving. In: Bove and Davis, Diving Medicine, 2nd ED., Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders, pp 59-68.
From a lecture by Paul
Medical Seminars, Bonaire, 1996
Ernest Campbell, MD, FACS All Rights Reserved.