Abstract
Sport diving is one of the popular sports and recreational activities, which is performed by a relatively large group of athletes of different ages and levels of physical fitness. Sport diving represents two main disciplines: scuba diving and freediving.
Diving requires good function of cardiovascular system. The aim of the paper is to summarize basic factors infl uencing cardiovascular system during diving, to provide basic information about diving physiological processes and to inform about some danger conditions that potentially interfere with diving (persistent foramen ovale, arterial hypertension, latent heart failure, arrhythmias, cardiac pacemakers, and cardiovascular medication).
All these conditions can potentially endanger the life of the diver or his buddy. Knowledge of the basic pathophysiological mechanisms associated with diving allows a safer assessment of the fitness to dive.