Resuming Scuba Diving Post-Heart Attack: Physical Preparations

Since the last 30 plus years of my life has involved scuba diving, some years more than others, I wanted to be able to continue diving. The year after my heart attack was also the year I was going to certify my two sons. Contrary to what some people think, scuba diving can be strenuous, and your body and heart need to be prepared for that. The first stage for me was –  if I do anything strenuous, am I going to die? After some reassurance from a few cardiologists, eight weeks of cardiac rehabilitation, and physically I felt like I was ok. 

Mental and Physical Readiness for Returning to the Depths

The next stage was getting my mind in the right place, just like the body, the mind must be in the right space if you are going to go for a dive. This stage took a little longer and I was not willing to rush it. For my mind to be in the right place and get the reassurance I needed, I started doing regular exercise every day (at least 30 minutes) and went back to watching my watch. Seeing my heart rate go up (I was told not to go above 135 bpm) and then recover like it used to, maybe quicker, my confidence was coming back. I had a six month follow up with my cardiologist that included an ultrasound and all my results were back to normal. 

I will not bore you with what “normal” is, you can look that up pretty easily. At this point I brought the UHMS Recreational Diving Medical Screening forms to my cardiologist, let her read them and answered any questions she had regarding scuba diving and she signed it! This gave me the mental reassurance I needed to start diving again, but cautiously. Despite my years of diving in challenging environments, with any piece of equipment, to deep depths, all I felt comfortable with was warm clear water and shallow depths.

The First Dive Post-Recovery: Navigating Fear and Caution

My first dive was a shallow dive in Mexico, and it felt good but to be honest, it was a little scary. I had to take one step at a time, putting on the wetsuit, carrying the gear, making that giant stride, breathing underwater again. Each one of those steps required me to do a quick inventory, is my heart still working? Do I feel normal? Is my jaw tightening up? This happened repeatedly, at every change of depth. At the end of the one hour dive I felt great! One thing I forgot to mention, I was completely open with the few people I was diving with, they knew I had had a heart attack and they knew I had been medically cleared but was still a little nervous. On this trip I did 10 or 15 dives, each dive got a little easier. Later that same summer I did some local dives in a lake and two ocean dives off the coast of Maine. I was able to certify my sons after all.

Concluding Insights: Diving After a Heart Attack with Caution and Awareness

The moral of my story is, you can dive after a heart attack but make sure you are medically fit and mentally ready. Also, make sure the people you do your dives with know your situation and how to help you if you need it. Also, no matter how experienced you are, take it easy and make sure mentally you are ready to dive, only you can answer that question honestly.