What is the major problem being addressed in this research program?

Our research is aimed at understanding how the cardiovascular and respiratory systems work together during exposure to low oxygen levels (hypoxic stress). In particular, we are trying to identify what hormonal, neural, or metabolic factors are responsible changes in blood pressure regulation and blood flow distribution during a short exposure to reduced oxygen levels, similar to what happens at altitude or in patients with sleep apnea.

What specific questions are being asked and how will they be answered?

We have begun to identify what some of these factors are. For instance, we know that the neural reflexes that control blood pressure are altered by hypoxic stress so that they try to maintain a higher blood pressure. We believe other factors are also involved in this response and are working to identify these other factors. We do this by studying healthy volunteers before, during, and after a short period of exposure to reduced oxygen levels.

What is the long-term biomedical significance of this work, particularly as it pertains to the cardiovascular area? What major therapeutic advances might it lead to?

It is our goal to understand more completely the effects of hypoxic stress on blood pressure. This may lead to a better understanding of fainting spells in visitors to altitude, and to better management of the hypertension that is common in individuals with sleep apnea.

What are some of the methods and techniques being used to address these questions?

Our volunteer research subjects undergo a variety if tests during exposure to hypoxic stress. Typical measurements in this project might include the following: heart rate (electrocardiography), breath-by-breath ventilation and gas exchange, and neural recordings (microneurography). 

                                                   This project is supported by a grant from: