Application of the heated oxygen-helium mixture in rehabilitation of military servicers with arterial hypertension at the ambulatory-polycinic stage

Background. The professional activity of military personnel is characterized by complexity, high requirements for the state of physical and mental health, therefore, maintaining health and professional longevity is a priority task for the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation.

Aims. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of heated oxygen-helium mixture (OHM) in the rehabilitation of military personnel with arterial hypertension at the outpatient stage.

Methods. The study included 68 people aged 32 to 56 (43,7 ± 4,1) years. The patients were divided into two groups: Group I (n = 33) — practically healthy volunteers, Group II (n = 35) — patients with a verified diagnosis: arterial hypertension of I and II degrees, low and medium risk, the duration of the disease ranged from 1,5 to 18 (6.3 ± 1.3) years. All patients included in the study underwent a course of inhalation of a heated OHM (the temperature of the mixture in the mask was 50°С). Breathing was carried out in a cyclic-fractionated mode: breathing with a mixture — 5 minutes, then breathing with atmospheric air — 5 minutes (one cycle), 3 cycles per procedure. The course of treatment consisted of 1 procedure per day for 10 days from the first day of the study. The clinical efficacy of restorative treatment was assessed in three stages — before the start of therapy, after the 5th and 10th procedures according to the following indicators: assessment of vegetative status using indicators of heart rate variability; express diagnostics of the psychoemotional state using the SAN questionnaire (well-being, activity, mood); assessment of adaptation of the cardiovascular system to physical activity using Martine's test with 20 squats.

Results. In the second group, positive dynamics was noted in the form of normalization of the autonomic status, an increase in the activity of the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system (an increase in SDNN, RMSSD indicators to 55 [48–68] and 40 [38–51 msec, respectively), a decrease in the tone of the sympathetic nervous system (normalization of the coefficient vagosympathetic balance LF/HF up to 1.1 [0.74–1.5]). The indicators of the SAN questionnaire have increased, which indicates an improvement in the psychoemotional state of servicemen. Patients with arterial hypertension, had positive dynamics in the rate of adaptive processes of restoration of the cardiovascular system after exercise (recovery time is 3.0 ± 0.5 after the course).

Conclusions. The use of a course of inhalations of a heated oxygen-helium mixture in the rehabilitation of servicemen with arterial hypertension has demonstrated its effectiveness in normalizing the psychoemotional state and vegetative status. In order to prevent the progression of arterial hypertension, this method can be included in rehabilitation programs at the outpatient and polyclinic stage.