Heart rate and blood pressure responses during hypoxic cycles of a 3-week intermittent hypoxia breathing program in patients at risk for or with mild COPD.

The aim of this study was to provide information on heart rate and blood pressure responses during a 3-week intermittent hypoxia breathing program in COPD patients. Sixteen participants with COPD symptoms were randomly assigned to a hypoxia or control group and completed a 3-week intermittent hypoxia breathing program (five sessions per week, each consisting of three to five breathing cycles, each cycle lasting 3-5 minutes with 3-minute breaks between cycles). During the breathing cycles, the hypoxia group received hypoxic air (inspired fraction of oxygen 15%-12%), whereas the control group received normal air (sham hypoxia). During the breaks, all participants breathed normoxic room air. Arterial oxygen saturation, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate were measured during the normoxic and hypoxic/sham hypoxic periods. For each breathing cycle, changes from normoxia to hypoxia/sham hypoxia were calculated, and changes were averaged for each of the 15 sessions and for each week. Changes in arterial oxygen saturation were significantly different between groups in the course of the 3 weeks (two-way analysis of variance for repeated measures), with post hoc differences in weeks 1, 2, and 3. During the course of the intermittent hypoxia application, no between-group differences were detected for blood pressure or rate pressure product values. Changes in heart rate were significantly different between groups in the course of the 3 weeks (two-way analysis of variance for repeated measures), with post hoc differences only in week 3. Averages over all 15 sessions were significantly higher in the hypoxia group for heart rate and rate pressure product, and tended to be increased for systolic blood pressure. The applied intermittent hypoxia breathing program resulted in specific and moderate heart rate and blood pressure responses, and did not provoke a progressive increase in blood pressure during the hypoxic cycles in the course of the application.

Interval hypoxic training improves autonomic cardiovascular and respiratory control in patients with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with cardiac autonomic nervous system dysregulation. This study evaluates the effects of interval hypoxic training on cardiovascular and respiratory control in patients with mild COPD. METHODS: In 18 eucapnic normoxic mild COPD patients (age 51.7 +/- 2.4 years, mean +/- SEM), randomly assigned to either training or placebo group, and 14 age-matched healthy controls (47.7 +/- 2.8 years), we monitored end-tidal carbon dioxide, airway flow, arterial oxygen saturation, electrocardiogram, and continuous noninvasive blood pressure at rest, during progressive hypercapnic hyperoxia and isocapnic hypoxia to compare baroreflex sensitivity to hypoxia and hypercapnia before and after 3 weeks of hypoxic training. In double-blind fashion, both groups received 15 sessions of passive intermittent hypoxia (training group) or normoxia (placebo group). For the hypoxia group, each session consisted of three to five hypoxic (15-12% oxygen) periods (3-5 min) with 3-min normoxic intervals. The placebo group inhaled normoxic air. RESULTS: Before training, COPD patients showed depressed baroreflex sensitivity, as compared with healthy individuals, without evident chemoreflex abnormalities. After training, in contrast to placebo group, the training group showed increased (P < 0.05) baroreflex sensitivity up to normal levels and selectively increased hypercapnic ventilatory response (P < 0.05), without changes in hypoxic ventilatory response. CONCLUSION: Eucapnic normoxic mild COPD patients already showed signs of cardiovascular autonomic abnormalities at baseline, which normalized with hypoxic training. If confirmed in more severe patients, interval hypoxic training may be a therapeutic strategy to rebalance early autonomic dysfunction in COPD patients.