Cardiovascular consequences of aerobic maneuvers
Trivelloni, P.; Berrettini, U.
Giornale Italiano di Cardiologia 11(10 Suppl 1: 126s-129s
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1827-6806 PMID: 21416842 Document Number: 642733
Gravitational (G) stress during aerobatics flights, both military and civilian, can suddenly incapacitate pilots in agile and supermaneuverable aircrafts. High +Gz stress, up to +9Gz, has two different physiological consequences: the first is the drop in head-level blood pressure that is proportional to the G load; the other, slightly delayed, is the blood pooling in the lower part of the body and the abdomen. This blood shift results in a decreased return of venous blood to the heart, decreased cardiac output, and decreased blood pressure, leading to a likely loss of consciousness. The natural countermeasure against the effects of high G stress is the baroreceptor reflex. The human physiological tolerance to the gravito-inertial forces developed in flight operations can be increased by physiological and technological means.