[conchxpress]

Rick, any word on the death of the Vandenburg diver? What are your thoughts. I had read that he was an experienced diver, but was using rebreathing gear for the first time. The article also said that his medical history included Obstructive Sleep Apnea and used a CPAP machine at home. Do you think that divers with this history are at risk for diving related mishaps? From my knowledge, patients with OSA have an altered sensitivity to the CO2 and O2 triggers involving respiration. Normally, the principle respiratory drive is to elevated CO2 first and low O2 second, but in these patients, the CO2 drive is blunted because of the body's adaptation to periods of apnea during sleep, caused by obstructive upper airway problems. It's my elementary understanding(please correct me if I'm wrond) that with the rebreather, the diver has to make adjustments to gas mixture himself, depending on depth and activity. Why does a John Q Citizen diver ever need to use a re-breather? This is Navy Seal covert type stuff. And pretty costly - around 5 grand? Thought maybe you could shed some light on this subject.