What Researchers Did
Researchers used ultrasound to investigate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on flow-mediated vasodilation in 14 young patients without cardiovascular problems.
What They Found
A significant increase in the preinflation right brachial artery diameter was observed after 10 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen treatment (from 3.6 +/- 0.54 mm to 3.76 +/- 0.56 mm, P < .05). However, no statistically significant changes were found in the absolute or percent flow-mediated vasodilation, which remained around 10% after 1 and 10 sessions.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it was not conducted in Canada, nor does it involve Canadian researchers or specific Canadian patient populations.
Study Limitations
A significant limitation of this study is its very small sample size of only 14 young patients, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.