Hypercapnia in Orthostatic Hypotension

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY · Mar 15, 2022

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a condition called Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension (NOH), where a person's blood pressure drops significantly when they stand up, leading to symptoms like light-headedness, nausea, and fainting. The trial is exploring whether breathing in higher levels of carbon dioxide can help increase blood pressure and improve blood flow to the brain in patients with NOH. Researchers want to see if this method could be a new therapy for people with this condition.

To participate in the trial, you need to be at least 18 years old, a non-smoker, and willing to visit the Libin Cardiovascular Institute in Calgary for testing. Unfortunately, certain health conditions or medications may prevent you from joining, especially if they affect your nervous system or if you have severe anxiety, chronic heart failure, or other serious illnesses. If you’re eligible and decide to participate, you can expect to breathe in carbon dioxide while standing, and researchers will monitor how this affects your blood pressure and brain blood flow. This study aims to find new ways to help people with NOH feel better and manage their symptoms.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Age ≥18 years
• • Male and Female
• • Non - smokers.
• • Able and willing to provide informed consent.
• • Ability to travel to Libin Cardiovascular Institute Autonomic Testing Lab at the University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Medical therapies or medications which could interfere with testing of autonomic function
• • Participants with somatization or severe anxiety symptoms will be excluded
• • Pregnant or breast-feeding females
• • Inability to tolerate mask for the duration of the study
• • Subjects who require portable oxygen at rest or with exercise
• • Subjects with chronic heart failure or severe pulmonary disease who are unable to climb one flight of stairs due to shortness of breath.
• • Presence of failure of other organ systems or systemic illness that can affect autonomic function or the participant's ability to cooperate. These include: dementia, alcohol and/or drug abuse, cerebrovascular disease, kidney or liver disease, surgical procedures where the nerves of the sympathetic nervous system have been cut.
• • Other factors which in the investigator's opinion would prevent the participant from completing the protocol, including poor compliance during previous studies.