Combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training improves cardiovascular function and physical working capacity in humans.
BACKGROUND
Musculoskeletal and cardiovascular deconditioning occurring in long-term spaceflight gives rise to the needs to develop new strategies to counteract these adverse effects. Short-arm centrifuge combined with ergometer has been proposed as a strategy to counteract adverse effects of microgravity. This study sought to investigate whether the combination of short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training have advantages over short-arm centrifuge or aerobic exercise training alone.


METHODS
One week training was conducted by 24 healthy men. They were randomly divided into 3 groups: (1) short-arm centrifuge training, (2) aerobic exercise training, 40 W, and (3) combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training. Before and after training, the cardiac pump function represented by stroke volume, cardiac output, left ventricular ejection time, and total peripheral resistance was evaluated. Variability of heart rate and systolic blood pressure were determined by spectral analysis. Physical working capacity was surveyed by near maximal physical working capacity test.


RESULTS
The 1-week combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training remarkably ameliorated the cardiac pump function and enhanced vasomotor sympathetic nerve modulation and improved physical working capacity by 10.9% (P<.05, n=8). In contrast, neither the short-arm centrifuge nor the aerobic exercise group showed improvements in these functions.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate that combined short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise training has advantages over short-arm centrifuge or aerobic exercise training alone in influencing several physiologically important cardiovascular functions in humans. The combination of short-arm centrifuge and aerobic exercise offers a promising countermeasure to microgravity.
Department of Aerospace Biodynamics, Faculty of Aerospace Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Chang-Bin
CB
Yang
Shu
S
Zhang
Yu
Y
Zhang
Bing
B
Wang
Yong-Jie
YJ
Yao
Yong-Chun
YC
Wang
Yan-Hong
YH
Wu
Wen-Bin
WB
Liang
Xi-Qing
XQ
Sun
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002302:Cardiac Output; D002498:Centrifugation; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D018472:Hypogravity; D008297:Male; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation; D055815:Young Adult