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Updated: Aug 13, 2025

Training Rats to Voluntarily Dive Underwater: Investigations of the Mammalian Diving Response
Published on: November 12, 2014
SCUBA Diving in Adult Congenital Heart Disease
Robert M Kauling1, Rienk Rienks2,3, Judith A A E Cuypers1
1Department of Cardiology, Thorax Center, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Conventionally, scuba diving has been discouraged for adult patients with congenital heart disease (ACHD). This restrictive sports advice is based on expert opinion in the absence of high-quality diving-specific studies. However, as survival and quality of life in congenital heart disease (CHD) patients have dramatically improved in the last decades, a critical appraisal whether such restrictive sports advice is still applicable is warranted. In this review, the cardiovascular effects of diving are described and a framework for the work-up for ACHD patients wishing to engage in scuba diving is provided. In addition, diving recommendations for specific CHD diagnostic groups are proposed.
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