Endurance Performance at Altitude

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2018-10-02
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The degree to which endurance exercise performance is diminished in acute hypoxia is variable and appears to be the result of several different physiological processes, however this research focuses on hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). Sildenafil, a pulmonary vasodilator, has been used with mixed results to improve athletic performance in hypoxia. Because sildenafil has been shown to reduce HPV in some individuals, we believe that its effectiveness is closely related to the magnitude of the HPV response and the degree that individual exercise performance declines in hypoxia. This research will investigate the relationship between sildenafil, HPV, and exercise performance.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Treatments: Sildenafil Citrate

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• between age 19 (18 if a University of British Columbia student) and 40

• healthy

• competitive cyclist (hold current racing license of professional, category 1, or 2 or have a measured VO2max greater than 60 ml.min.kg).

Exclusion Criteria:

• smokers

• anyone unable to complete the exercise protocol

• individuals with a history of cardiovascular or respiratory illness

• those with an atrial or ventricular septal defect (e.g. patent foramen oval)

• anyone currently prescribed sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil or any other PDE-5 inhibiting medication

• anyone who has lived more than 15 days at moderate altitude in the last three months