Orthostatic and +Gz tolerance in hypertension pilots before and after drug treatment

Objective To observe the changes of orthostatic and +Gz tolerance in hypertension pilots before and after drug treatment. Methods Orthostatic and centrifuge tests were performed for 20min in 10 selected hypertension fighter pilots（mean age 36±6 years）with no complication of cardio-cerebral blood vessels confirmed by clinical examination before and after drug treatment. Results The orthostatic test showed that the mean blood pressure of fighter pilots was（147±16/92±10）mmHg and（150±18/99±12）mmHg in supine position and standing position,respectively,before drug treatment（P＜0.01）.The orthostatic test was positive in 1 pilot and +Gz tolerance did not meet the flying standards in 5 pilots.The mean blood pressure of fighter pilots was（131±10/80±7）mmHg and（130±8/87±3）mmHg in supine position and standing position,respectively,after treatment with hypertension-reducing drugs（P＜0.01,P＜0.05）,which was significantly lower than that before treatment.The orthostatic tolerance was negative in all pilots and the +Gz tolerance did not meet the flying standards in 3 pilots. Conclusion Hypertension has a negative effect on orthostatic and +Gz tolerance.Improvement in +Gz tolerance after drug treatment is correlated with the severity of disease and the used types and doses of hypertension-reducing drugs.