Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Graduate
group
What campus are you from?
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Toni Butler, Graduate Student Noah Robbins, Graduate Student Sophia Vaden, Freshman Bryan Hinton, Freshman
Lead Presenter's Name
Toni Butler
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Scott Ferguson
Abstract
Student pilots face a unique set of stressors that are a part of their flight training. These acute stressors can have immediate and long-term impacts on their physiological and psychological well-being. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure vascular endothelial function (a marker of cardiovascular health), this investigation will help us understand how the stressors involved in acute flight training affects the cardiovascular health of student pilots. We will test the hypothesis that acute flight training stress obtained from a single bout of flight training reduces cardiovascular function as shown by a reduced post-occlusive reactive hyperemic (PORH) response. Cardiovascular health will be assessed using NIRS to measure the PORH response in healthy pilot participants (< 30 hours of total flight experience). A rapid cuff inflator (RCI) will be inflated to induce a controlled, temporary muscle ischemia of the right forearm followed by RCI deflation restoring blood flow. Changes in muscle oxygenation (oxyhemoglobin concentration) will be characterized across the baseline, deoxygenation, reoxygenation, and recovery phases of the PORH response. These measurements will be made before and after a single flight training sortie. Data from ~43 healthy pilot participants will be analyzed to improve understanding of how acute stress influences cardiovascular regulation in pilots and to establish a foundation for future investigations into the long-term effects of chronic stress on flight crew health and the development of cardiovascular disease.
Did this research project receive funding support from the Office of Undergraduate Research.
No
Impact of acute flight training stress on cardiovascular health
Student pilots face a unique set of stressors that are a part of their flight training. These acute stressors can have immediate and long-term impacts on their physiological and psychological well-being. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to measure vascular endothelial function (a marker of cardiovascular health), this investigation will help us understand how the stressors involved in acute flight training affects the cardiovascular health of student pilots. We will test the hypothesis that acute flight training stress obtained from a single bout of flight training reduces cardiovascular function as shown by a reduced post-occlusive reactive hyperemic (PORH) response. Cardiovascular health will be assessed using NIRS to measure the PORH response in healthy pilot participants (< 30 hours of total flight experience). A rapid cuff inflator (RCI) will be inflated to induce a controlled, temporary muscle ischemia of the right forearm followed by RCI deflation restoring blood flow. Changes in muscle oxygenation (oxyhemoglobin concentration) will be characterized across the baseline, deoxygenation, reoxygenation, and recovery phases of the PORH response. These measurements will be made before and after a single flight training sortie. Data from ~43 healthy pilot participants will be analyzed to improve understanding of how acute stress influences cardiovascular regulation in pilots and to establish a foundation for future investigations into the long-term effects of chronic stress on flight crew health and the development of cardiovascular disease.