title: Pulmonary and heart rate responses to wearing N95 filtering facepiece respirators.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Filtering facepiece respirators are the most common respirator worn by US health care and industrial workers, yet little is known on the physiologic impact of wearing this protective equipment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty young, healthy subjects exercised on a treadmill at a low-moderate (5.6 km/h) work rate while wearing 4 different models of N95 filtering facepiece respirators for 1 hour each, 2 models of which were equipped with exhalation valves, while being monitored for physiologic variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with controls, respirator use was associated with mean 1 hour increases in heart rate (range, 5.7-10.6 beats per minute, P < .001), respiratory rate (range, 1.4-2.4 breaths per minute, P < .05), and transcutaneous carbon dioxide (range, 1.7-3.0 mm Hg, P < .001). No significant differences in oxygen saturation between controls and respirators were noted (P > .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pulmonary and heart rate responses to wearing a filtering facepiece respirator for 1 hour at a low-moderate work rate are relatively small and should generally be well tolerated by healthy persons.
authors.affiliation: National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA.
authors.forename: Jung-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Stacey M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: Raymond J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Roberge
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices; D056152:Respiratory Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult