[Hypobaric interval hypoxia as a tool for improving tolerance of harmful occupational factors].

The method of hypobaric interval hypoxia (HIH) has been developed and approved for application in aerospace, military, prophylactic and rehabilitative medicine. A course of H1H included 10 one-hour daily sessions of hypobaria and interval hypoxia simulating ascent to an altitude from 3 to 5 km a.s.l. Each session comprised a 7 minute exposure to hypoxia (breathing rarified air) alternating with a 3 minute exposure to hyperoxia (breathing oxygen) without a change of the altitude simulated in the low-pressure chamber. The first session included ascent to 3 km, in each of the following sessions (from 2nd to 4th) the altitude was successively increased by 500 m and reached 5 km in sessions 5-10. HIH was shown to be highly efficacious in improving the functional state of the organism and its resistance to unfavourable environmental conditions; also it can be used to correct changes of these parameters.