The FDA now approves the use of hyperbaric chambers for the treatment of air or gas embolisms (“bubbles” in the bloodstream that obstruct circulation), carbon monoxide poisoning, and thermal burns caused by heat or fire.
All the body’s organs — including the heart — require steady supplies of oxygen. But the air we normally breathe contains just 21 percent oxygen.
With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a person is put into a cylindrical chamber into which 100 percent oxygen is pumped.
During the procedure, a person’s cells get two to three times the amount of oxygen they would ordinarily.
To date, the FDA has approved 13 uses for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
There is some evidence to support the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy as acute treatment for heart attack.
However, the studies are few and more research is needed before the procedure becomes an accepted in-hospital treatment.
Alternative medicine practitioners have embraced hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and it is now touted for some 40 ailments, ranging from attention deficit disorder to spinal cord injury, cancer, and coronary artery disease.
For unapproved FDA uses, patients must pay out-of-pocket for this therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment costs, on average, about $200 per session. As treatment courses can range from 20 to 50 sessions, the bill can mount quickly.
While hyperbaric oxygen treatment is generally safe, there are some possible side effects, including myopia (nearsightedness) that can last for weeks or months, sinus damage, rupture of the middle ear, and lung damage.
In some cases, a complication called “oxygen toxicity” can result in seizures, fluid in the lungs, and even respiratory failure.
The treatment can also aggravate severe congestive heart failure, and patients who have pacemakers should not use it.
I am skeptical of expensive treatments for conditions that lack adequate scientific evidence or FDA approval. I don’t endorse hyperbaric oxygen treatment for my patients.
However, I do believe in pumping up oxygen levels through natural means. You can do this for your heart simply by doing cardiovascular exercise. The evidence for this form of treatment is well-established and has no side effects — and it’s free.
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