Assessment of the effect of long-term continuous stay in the artificial hypoxic gas-air environment at normal atmospheric pressure on the functional state of the cardiovascular system

In the vast majority of clinical cases, hypoxia and hypoxia are considered as negative pathological processes that require urgent correction with subsequent pharmacological support for the restoration of functioning, and in some cases, the structure of the involved organ and system. The loss of full functionality as a result of local or general exposure to the hypoxia is confirmed by numerous studies. However, there are research data showing that subliminal exposure to hypoxia can be used as a positive adaptation factor, which increases the overall health of the body, stamina, and tolerance to physical load. This mechanism is actively used in training athletes of different levels of functional fitness, sports and ages. There is a question of balance of adaptive and damaging properties of hypoxia. Threshold values at which the hypoxic state will have positive adaptive or negative — damaging properties are not clearly defined at the moment. The key criterion for a hypoxic environment is the concentration of oxygen in the inhaled air. At the same time, physiological or pathophysiological response to changes in concentration is purely individual and primarily depends on the parameters of homeostasis. This issue is relevant because clinical manifestations characteristic of the hypoxic state develop in patients with different forms of coronary heart disease. The purpose of our study was an attempt to document the functional changes from the cardiovascular system of healthy individuals with prolonged continuous exposure to artificial hypoxic conditions while maintaining normal atmospheric pressure using standard diagnostic methods that are generally available.