Université de Fribourg

Orthostatic intolerance in older persons: etiology and countermeasures

Goswami, Nandu ; Blaber, Andrew P. ; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut ; Montani, Jean-Pierre

In: Frontiers in Physiology, 2017, vol. 8, p. -

Orthostatic challenge produced by upright posture may lead to syncope if the cardiovascular system is unable to maintain adequate brain perfusion. This review outlines orthostatic intolerance related to the aging process, long-term bedrest immobilization, drugs, and disease. Aging-associated illness or injury due to falls often leads to hospitalization. Given that older patients spend up to...

Université de Fribourg

Delaying orthostatic syncope with mental challenge: A pilot study

Goswami, Nandu ; Roessler, Andreas ; Szalkay, Helmut Hinghofer ; Montani, Jean Pierre ; Steptoe, Andrew

In: Physiology & Behavior, 2012, vol. 106, no. 4, p. 569–573

At orthostatic vasovagal syncope there appears to be a sudden decline of sympathetic activity. As mental challenge activates the sympathetic system, we hypothesized that doing mental arithmetic in volunteers driven to the end point of their cardiovascular stability may delay the onset of orthostatic syncope. We investigated this in healthy male subjects. Each subject underwent a head up tilt...

Université de Fribourg

Does mental arithmetic before head up tilt have an effect on the orthostatic cardiovascular and hormonal responses?

Goswami, Nandu ; Lackner, Helmut Karl ; Papousek, Ilona ; Montani, Jean-Pierre ; Jezova, Daniela ; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut G.

In: Acta Astronautica, 2011, vol. 68, no. 9-10, p. 1589-1594

Passive head up tilt (HUT) and mental arithmetic (MA) are commonly used for providing mental and orthostatic challenges, respectively. In animal experiments, even a single exposure to a stressor has been shown to modify the response to subsequent stress stimulus. We investigated whether MA applied before HUT elicits synergistic responses in orthostatic heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO),...

Université de Fribourg

Time course of cardiovascular responses induced by mental and orthostatic challenges

Lackner, Helmut Karl ; Goswami, Nandu ; Papousek, Ilona ; Roessler, Andreas ; Grasser, Erik Konrad ; Montani, Jean-Pierre ; Jezova, Daniela ; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut

In: International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2010, vol. 75, no. 1, p. 48-53

Cardiovascular responses to single stressors diminish over time. Interaction of different stressors influencing hemodynamic variables, indicative of stress-induced reactivity and physiological responses are, however, poorly understood. We investigated time course of mental (using mental arithmetic, MA) and orthostatic (using head up tilt, HUT) challenges induced responses in 16 males. Three...

Université de Fribourg

Rate of cardiovascular recovery to combined or separate orthostatic and mental challenges

Goswami, Nandu ; Lackner, Helmut Karl ; Papousek, Ilona ; Jezova, Daniela ; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut ; Montani, Jean-Pierre

In: International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2010, vol. 75, no. 1, p. 54-62

Post stress neurovascular responses induced by physical and mental stress are poorly understood. We investigated the time course of cardiovascular and autonomic recovery, induced by orthostatic and mental challenge, using passive head up tilt (HUT) and mental arithmetic (MA), respectively, when applied singly (MA, HUT) or in combination (MA + HUT). Fifteen healthy males participated in three...

Université de Fribourg

Interaction of mental and orthostatic stressors

Goswami, Nandu ; Lackner, Helmut K. ; Papousek, Ilona ; Jezova, Daniela ; Montani, Jean-Pierre ; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut G.

In: Acta Astronautica, 2010, p. -

We assessed hemodynamic responses induced by orthostatic and mental stressors, using passive head up tilt (HUT) and mental arithmetic (MA), respectively. The 15 healthy males underwent three protocols: (1) HUT alone, (2) MA in supine position and (3) MA+HUT, with sessions randomized and ≥2 weeks apart. In relation to baseline, HUT increased heart rate (HR) (+20.4±7.1 bpm; p<0.001),...