Glossopharyngeal insufflation and breath-hold diving: the more, the worse?

The glossopharyngeal insufflation maneuver (lung packing) is largely performed by competitive breath-hold divers to improve their performance, despite observational evidence of fainting and loss of consciousness in the first seconds of apnea.

We describe here the time course of hemodynamic changes, induced by breath-holding with and without lung packing, in 2 world-class apnea competitors.

When compared with apnea performed after a deep breath (100% vital capacity), lung packing leads to a decrease in cardiac output, blood pressure, and cerebral blood flow during the first seconds after the beginning of apnea. The major hemodynamic disorders were observed in diver 1, who exhibited the greater increase in pulmonary volume after lung packing (+22% for diver 1 vs +10% for diver 2). After the initial drop in both cardiac output and blood pressure, the time course of hemodynamic alterations became quite similar between the two apneas.

Some recommendations, such as limiting the number of maneuvers and performing lung packing in the supine position, should be expressed to avoid injuries secondary to the use of glossopharyngeal insufflation.