Papers
Pulmonary oedema and haemoptysis induced by strenuous swimming
BMJ 1995; 311 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.311.7001.361 (Published 05 August 1995) Cite this as: BMJ 1995;311:361
- D Weiler-Ravell, consultant pulmonologista,
- A Shupak, consultant in otolaryngology and director,a,
- I Goldenberg, physiciana,
- P Halpern, consultant in emergency medicinea,
- O Shoshani, physiciana,
- G Hirschhorn, physiciana,
- A Margulis, physiciana
- aIsrael Naval Medical Institute, IDF Medical Corps, PO Box 8040, Haifa 31080, Israel
- Correspondence to: Dr Shupak.
- Accepted 5 August 1995
Pulmonary haemorrhage induced by exercise is well known in racehorses.1 Recent studies attribute the phenomenon to rupture of pulmonary capillaries because of a large increase in pulmonary blood flow and pressure.2 Pulmonary oedema has previously been described in scuba divers and swimmers who have been immersed in very cold water, albeit without excessive exertion.3 We report on a group of highly trained swimmers in whom severe dyspnoea and haemoptysis developed during the first 45 minutes of strenuous swimming in temperate Mediterranean waters.
Patients, methods, and results
Thirty young men on a military fitness training programme were engaged in a swimming time trial over 2.4 km in the open sea. The sea was calm and the measured water temperature 23°. They swam in …