Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography : official publication of the American Society of Echocardiography
-
J Am Soc Echocardiogr · Oct 2008
Chest sonography detects lung water accumulation in healthy elite apnea divers.
Ultrasound lung comets (ULCs) detected by chest sonography are a simple, noninvasive, semiquantitative sign of increased extravascular lung water. Pulmonary edema may occur in elite apnea divers, possibly triggered by centralization of blood flow from the periphery to pulmonary vessels. We assessed the prevalence of ULCs in top-level breath-hold divers after immersion. ⋯ In top-level breath-hold divers, chest sonography frequently reveals an increased number of ULCs after immersion, indicating a relatively high prevalence of (often subclinical) reversible extravascular lung water accumulation.