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Hypercapnia in Orthostatic Hypotension

NCT05295810 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 80

Last updated 2026-05-05

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The Autonomic (or "automatic") Nervous System (ANS) regulates internal processes, including control of heart rate and blood pressure (BP). When someone stands, and gravity tries to pull blood away from the brain, the ANS works to maintain BP and brain blood flow. Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension (NOH) occurs when our "fight-or-flight" part ("sympathetic") of the ANS fails. BP can drop a lot when upright, reducing blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain, and this can cause symptoms of light-headedness, nausea, and fainting.

One solution to help counter the effects of NOH may be to increase sympathetic activity by breathing higher levels of carbon dioxide. In healthy volunteers, small increases in the amount of inhaled carbon dioxide has been shown to increase BP in the upright position, and this improves symptoms!

The objectives of the current study are to apply carbon dioxide in patients with NOH and healthy controls to: (a) evaluate the effects of breathing carbon dioxide on BP and brain blood flow, and (b) determine if a device that increases carbon dioxide while standing will work as a new therapy

Conditions

  • Orthostatic Hypotension
  • Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension

Interventions

DRUG

Sequential Gas Delivery

Sequential Gas Delivery will be controlled using the RespirAct™ system (Thornhill Research Inc., Toronto, Canada)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Calgary

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Satish R Raj, MD · University of Calgary

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
100 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2022-03-01
Primary Completion
2029-12-31
Completion
2030-05-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05295810 on ClinicalTrials.gov