It has been unclear how acute hypoxia at moderate altitude affects stroke volume (SV), an index of cardiac function, during exercise. The present study was conducted to reveal whether acute normobaric hypoxia might alter SV during exercise.
Nine healthy male subjects performed maximal exercise testing under normobaric normoxic, and normobaric hypoxic conditions (O₂: 14.4%) in a randomized order. A novel thoracic impedance method was used to continuously measure SV and cardiac output (CO) during exercise.
Acute hypoxia decreased maximal work rate (hypoxia; 247 ± 6 [SE] versus normoxia; 267 ± 8 W, P < 0.005) and VO₂ max (hypoxia; 2761 ± 99 versus normoxia; 3039 ± 133 mL/min, P < 0.005). Under hypoxic conditions, SV and CO at maximal exercise decreased (SV: hypoxia; 145 ± 11 versus normoxia; 163 ± 11 mL, P < 0.05, CO: hypoxia; 26.7 ± 2.1 versus normoxia; 30.2 ± 1.8 L/min, P < 0.05). In acute hypoxia, SV during submaximal exercise at identical work rate decreased. Furthermore, in hypoxia, 4 of 9 subjects attained their highest SV at maximal exercise, while in normoxia, 8 of 9 subjects did.
Acute normobaric hypoxia attenuated the increment of SV and CO during exercise, and SV reached a plateau earlier under hypoxia than in normoxia. Cardiac function during exercise at this level of acute normobaric hypoxia might be attenuated.