Effect of heat acclimation on sitting orthostatic tolerance in the heat after 48 and 96 hour bed rest in men

The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate sitting orthostatic tolerance and determine potentially adverse signs and symptoms that would incapacitate subjects in a hot environment (Gemini reentry cabin temperature profile) after 48 hr and 96 hr of horizontal bed rest (BR), which simulated microgravity deconditioning. Six college men (23-29 yr) were allocated into two groups: heat acclimated (three subjects: No. 1- control, No. 2- 48 hr BR, and No. 3- 96 hr BR) and nonheat acclimated (three subjects: No. 4- control, No. 5- 48 hr BR, and No. 6- 96 hr BR). After BR they sat in an ambient temperature of 57 C (135 F) for 30 min which then was decreased to 49 C (120 F) for up to 480 min. Tolerance time in the heat with seated orthostatic stress was 480 min (subject No. 1) and 180 min (subject No. 4) in the two ambulatory men, but was reduced to 22-150 min in the four bed-rested men irrespective of their heat acclimation status. Although heat acclimation appeared to enhance tolerance and attenuate accompanying physiological responses, as well as ameliorate the frequency and intensity of adverse signs and symptoms at termination of exposure, tolerance was reduced in the bed-rest deconditioned subjects regardless of their acclimation level. Thus, these few collective findings do not indicate an unequivocal positive effect of acute heat acclimation on sitting orthostatic tolerance in acute bed-rest deconditioned subjects.