"Controversial" article on apnea

[Merman Storm]

The hyperventilation is defiantly an issue. For myself, I've noticed that if my breath-up is too long, too many breaths, I can get quite light-headed in the first few seconds of the hold. As a result, I do a limited breath-up, and stick to my regimen.

Also, I wonder about the statistics. How often does someone doing apnea lose consciousness? If they do so, how often does it result in injury or death? For example, with skydiving, I once heard that your chute fails in about 1 in 1000 uses, and the backup about as often. The chance of the double failure is one in a million. (This was awhile ago, I'm sure current numbers are different.) Even then the failed chutes still make drag and you can land without dying.

Are there any equivalent numbers for free diving?

[Echidna]

Are there any equivalent numbers for free diving?

http://divewise.org/education/freedi...ut/statistics/

most incidents (90%) seem to happen in the ocean, only around 3% in lakes or pools.
around 50 fatal cases annually, and one third of that more on top where the diver could be reanimated.
Most common trigger hyperventilation.

The figures regarding gender are obviously skewed, because the vast majority of apneists/spearfishers are male.
I'm willing to bet men also engage in more risky, competitive behaviour, while women tend to do it more for relaxation, fun, and swimming with animals.

and yea, most victims HAD a buddy. So...dive at your own risk?