Hypertension screening of commercial divers from an occupational medicine perspective.

Hypertension screening of commercial divers from an occupational medicine perspective. Undersea Hyperb Med. 2017 Mar-Apr;44(2):133-139 Authors: Garbino A, Sanders RW, Mathers CH Abstract Hypertension is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world: in the United States, it affects one-third of the adult population. Most cases are primary hypertension - with no identified cause - and significantly increase risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke. At NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), there is a cadre of professional divers who provide underwater support during extravehicular activity training (EVAs, commonly referred to as "spacewalks") for astronauts. The NBL occupational health program requires regular "work-site" physical exams, including blood pressure checks, on at least a weekly basis. Although some blood pressures measured during such regular checks were elevated, the diagnosis and management of blood pressure was outside the scope of that occupational medicine program. As a result, there was no protocol to analyze and manage asymptomatic elevated blood pressure if and when it warranted physician follow-up. We therefore analyzed the blood pressure data from all divers in 2015, vetted the worksite physical and developed a referral pathway to ensure divers have access to effective management of their blood pressure while minimizing impact of such a program on daily operations. PMID: 28777903 [PubMed - in...
Source: Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Authors: Tags: Undersea Hyperb Med Source Type: research