Training at high altitude for prolonged periods can cause low oxygen tension which can developed complication of hypoxia. Hypoxia is a cascade activity from a level of down regulation and function of cell’s nucleus. Early detection of biomarker and physiological changes are important in prevent the hypoxia at high altitude. Hyperbaric medicine is a new treatment that were used an oxygen therapy to treat hypoxic and inflammatory driven conditions which patients are treated with 100% oxygen at pressure greater than atmospheric pressure. The review discusses physiological changes associated with hypoxia, the response of biomarker hypoxia changes in high altitude and the role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy can play as part of the treatment for pilots and athletes training at high altitudes that suffering from disease with underlying hypoxia.
Hypertension is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and has been associated with about 13% of global deaths
worldwide. Oxidative stress and reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability contribute to the development of endothelial
dysfunction and subsequently hypertension. Nɷ-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) inhibits NO synthesis;
leading to hypertension. Piper sarmentosum (PS) is an herb with antioxidant, antiatherosclerosis and antiinflammation
properties. PS also stimulated NO production by endothelial cells. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of
aqueous extract of Piper sarmentosum (AEPS) on blood pressure, oxidative stress and the level of nitric oxide in L-NAMEinduced hypertensive rats. Hypertension was induced by oral administration of L-NAME (100 mg/L) in drinking water for
four weeks. The rats were concurrently treated with AEPS by oral gavage in serial doses (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg/day).
Blood pressure was measured using non-invasive tail-cuff method at baseline and fortnightly thereafter. Serum level of
NO and an oxidative stress marker, malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured at baseline and at the end of treatment. The
results showed that treatment with three different doses of AEPS successfully reduced systolic blood pressure (p<0.001),
diastolic blood pressure (p<0.05) and mean arterial pressure (p<0.05) in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats. Treatment
with AEPS also reduced MDA level (p<0.001) and increased serum NO (p<0.001) in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats.
The findings showed that AEPS decreased blood pressure by protecting against oxidative stress and increasing NO in
L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats.
Rowing exercise is one of the cardiorespiratory exercises that induce higher aerobic capacity. Cardiorespiratory parameters, cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), and heart rate (HR) are indicators to measure one’s cardiorespiratory fitness. The aim was to study the effects of 12-week rowing training on resting cardiac output (RCO), resting stroke volume (RSV), and resting heart rate (RHR) of stroke survivors. Ten stroke survivors (6 males; 4 females), mean age of 43.6 ± 16.15 years, were subjected to a 12-week rowing training (Concept II Rowing Ergometer, Model C, USA). An individualised programme was prescribed based on %HRR for each of stroke individual. Rowing training was conducted twice per week (12 HIIT; 12 MR). Paired t-test and repeated measures ANOVA (RPM ANOVA) were used for statistical analyses using IBM® SPSS® Statistics 20 software. RPM ANOVA analysis showed no significant effect on RCO [F (5, 45) = 1.066, p = 0.392, RSV [F (2.188, 19.693) = 0.677, p = 0.532)], and RHR [F (5, 45) = 0.856, p = 0.518]. Paired t-test showed no significant difference between pre- and posttest despite the improved values of Mean ± Standard Deviation (RCO: 8129.50 ± 3916.31 to 8494.18 ± 6248.86 mL/min; RSV: 99.27 ± 33.98 to 121.84 ± 66.24 mL; RHR: 78.02 ± 17.39 to 77.17 ± 11.98 bpm) for all respective parameters. Twelve weeks rowing training did not improve resting cardiorespiratory parameters of stroke survivors statistically. Future studies are suggested to include gender difference and medication effect variables.