ABSTRACT
HYPOTHESIS: Ten males were studied to examine the effects of a decongestant, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, on rest, exercise, and recovery from exercise during -6 degrees of head down tilt (HDT). METHODS: Subjects were positioned in the HDT for a total of 6 hr: 2 hr 45 min rest, 30 min exercise, and 2 hr 45 min recovery. Sessions were identical except for the ingestion of a drug or placebo. Variables evaluated during rest, exercise, and recovery conditions were: systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (Q), pulse pressure (PP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), total peripheral resistance (TPR), and forearm blood flow (FBF). RESULTS: During rest PP at 120 min was less than resting baseline, and MAP increased throughout rest. There was a treatment effect for SBP which increased up to 90 min from resting baseline for the placebo treatment only. Normal changes were found with exercise, with all variables increasing above baseline except for TPR which decreased. DBP showed no change during exercise. During the recovery condition for the drug treatment HR decreased, while SBP increased from 30 min. In addition, DBP and MAP were higher for the placebo at 30 min and higher for the drug at 90 min. CONCLUSION: The results show that ingestion of the sympathomimetic agent pseudoephedrine hydrochloride has no significant effects on the cardiovascular system during simulated microgravity.
