The psycho-physiological response to parachuting among novice and experienced parachutists

Elevated heart rate and increased anxiety are two indicators of stress. This study investigated the heart rate and anxiety response to parachuting among seven novice and six experienced parachutists. Heart rate was measured from the moment of boarding the aircraft until landing. Anxiety was measured prior to boarding the aircraft. Heart rate was significantly higher among the novice compared to the experienced parachutists, especially during takeoff (125 +/- 11 vs. 95 +/- 17 beats.min-1, respectively), and upon exit or free fall (184 +/- 12 vs. 164 +/- 17 beats.min-1, respectively). However, due to the difference in ages between the groups, when expressed relative to maximal heart rate, there was no difference in the heart rate response between groups (e.g., exit/free fall: 93.0 +/- 5.5% vs. 88.4 +/- 7.8% for novice and experienced, respectively). No statistical differences were observed in the anxiety scores between groups, although the novice parachutists scored somewhat higher (16.0 +/- 3.7 vs. 12.5 +/- 5.7, respectively). A significant correlation (r = 0.72) was observed between heart rate upon landing and the state anxiety scores. These results demonstrate a high psycho-physiological stress response to parachuting among both novice and experienced parachutists. It is likely that novice parachutists are stressed to a higher degree and may therefore be more prone to performance-related injury (e.g., upon landing). However, since both groups reached a similar percentage of their maximal heart rate, they may be at a similar risk of cardiac injury.