T his review focuses on the effects of altitude exposure from 1 to several days or weeks as occurs in tourists, trekkers, and mountaineers who visit high altitude and normally reside near sea level. We briefly review the acute physiological adjustments and early acclimatization that occur in the cardiovascular system and the lungs of healthy individuals. These ensure life-sustaining oxygen delivery to the tissues despite a reduction in the partial pressure of inspired oxygen between 20% and 60% at 2500 and 8000 m, respectively. One of the acute adjustments, hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV), may be disadvantageous in those with a vigorous response and lead to 2 potentially lethal illnesses, high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and subacute mountain sickness (SAMS), which we present in more detail. Finally, on the basis of knowledge about the acute physiological adjustments and acclimatization and, when available, a review of the literature, we discuss the highaltitude tolerance of patients with coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, arrhythmias, systemic hypertension, and pulmonary hypertension.
Effects of Exposure to High Altitude on the Normal Cardiovascular System CirculationThe major effects of acute hypoxia on the heart and lung are shown in Figure 1. Hypoxia directly affects the vascular tone of the pulmonary and systemic resistance vessels and increases ventilation and sympathetic activity via stimulation of the peripheral chemoreceptors. 1 Interactions occur between the direct effects of hypoxia on blood vessels and the chemoreceptor-mediated responses in the systemic and pulmonary circulation. Unraveling the underlying mechanisms of the hypoxic vasodilatation of systemic arterioles is an active area of research. Several mechanisms appear to regulate local oxygen delivery according to the needs of the tissues 2,3 ; for instance, the release of ATP from red blood cells and the generation of NO by various ways appear to regulate local oxygen delivery according to the needs of the tissue. These mechanisms may decrease with prolonged stay at high altitude when oxygen content of the blood increases because of ventilatory acclimatization, an increase in hematocrit associated with plasma volume reduction, and an increase in red blood cell mass due to erythropoiesis.Peripheral chemoreceptor afferent activity rises hyperbolically as hypoxia increases. 4 Ventilation and sympathetic activity are augmented, as demonstrated by increased urinary and plasma concentration of catecholamines 5 and skeletal muscle sympathetic activity. 6 With exposure over days to weeks, the sensitivity of the peripheral chemoreceptors to hypoxia increases, leading to further enhancement of ventilation (ventilatory acclimatization). This presumably also accounts for the further increase of sympathetic activity documented by microneurography after 3 weeks at 5200 m 6 and elevated catecholamines in urine and plasma. 5 As shown in Figure 1, there is antagonism between the direct effects of hypoxia on the resistance vessels ...