Cardiac decompression sickness: Report and discussion of a case

A case of first degree atrio-ventricular block, probably representing cardiac involvement by decompression sickness, is presented. The conduction defect resolved spontaneously 36 h after the initiating decompression insult, and was not accompanied by any other cardiovascular changes. The contribution of a recompression treatment, which alleviated accompanying Type I decompression sickness (DCS) symptoms, to the resolution of cardiac DCS is not certain. Cardiac symptoms of DCS do not receive enough consideration. It is suggested that an electrocardiogram should, whenever possible, form part of the basic evaluation of suspected DCS and of the initial workup of candidates for diving. A flow diagram for management of cardiac DCS is proposed.