Baseline values of cardiovascular and respiratory parameters predict response to acute hypoxia in young healthy men

The majority of the available works have studied distinct hypoxic responses of respiratory and cardiovascular systems. This study examines how these systems interact while responding to hypoxia and whether baseline metrics moderate reactions to a hypoxic challenge. Central hemodynamic, aortic wave reflection, and gas exchange parameters were measured in 27 trained young men before and after 10-min normobaric isocapnic hypoxia (10 % O2). Associations were assessed by correlation and multiple regression analyses. Hypoxic changes in the parameters of pulse wave analysis such as augmentation index (-114 %, p=0.007), pulse pressure amplification (+6 %, p=0.020), time to aortic reflection wave (+21 %, p<0.001) report on the increase in arterial distensibility. Specifically, initially compliant arteries blunt the positive cardiac chronotropic response to hypoxia and facilitate the myocardial workload. The degree of blood oxygen desaturation is directly correlated with both baseline values and hypoxic responses of aortic and peripheral blood pressures. The hypoxia-induced gain in ventilation (VE), while controlling for basal VE and heart rate (HR), is inversely associated with deltaHR and deltasystolic blood pressure. The study suggests that cardiovascular and respiratory systems mutually supplement each other when responding to hypoxic challenge.