DM>You may also want to look into the possibility that a condition called
DM>FORAMEN OVALE exist.  It is a small hole between the right and left
DM>atria of the heart which causes nitrogen saturated blood to go back
DM>into circulation without going back through the lung and "off gassing"
DM>as it should.    About 10 percent of the population has this condition
DM>many don't know it until they dive and become bent.
DM>If you truly have this condition, you should not dive.  Even divers which
DM>stay in the limits of the computer or table get bent if this condition
DM>exist.  I am curious, were you using table or computer?  What was
DM>your maximum bottom time and depth?
PFO, or Patent Forame Ovale is as common as Dan has mentioned.  However,
it can not be detected with having an echocardiogram done.
An echocardiogram is not a normal part of a physical unless one's
physician suspects cardiovascular problems, or an insurance company is
paying for the physical and the amount of insurance involved is large.
I had an echo cardiogram done some years ago, so I can tell you I do not
have a PFO.  However, one of the cardiologists who examined me dives, I
asked if he had checked to see if he had a PFO and he said no.  I was
amazed that he had not checked.
DAN figures of DCS victims who later find they have a PFO are amazingly
high.  I suspect a percentage of those with "undeserverd" DCS may well
have a PFO, however I do not think this study has been done yet.
Just my own two cents worth,
CARL
---
 * SLMR 2.1a * Clay, WV-First National Opossum Refuge
--- Squish v1.11
---------------