DURATION OF FACEMASK USE AND ITS EFFECT ON SOME CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS

ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks, including N95, FFP2, surgical, and cloth masks, have been employed as public and personal health control measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The aim of this study is to check for the effect of facemask use on some cardiovascular indices among normal weight female undergraduates. 40 subjects were used for this study and when they came into the laboratory, they were made to sit while measurement of cardiovascular parameters were done in the following order, preexposure to facemask, one hour exposure to facemask, two hours exposure to facemask, three hours exposure to facemask, four hours exposure to facemask, and twenty four hours post exposure to facemask. The facemask used in this study was a surgical face mask. The cardiovascular parameters measured included systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure.