Title
Global REACH 2018: Andean highlanders, chronic mountain sickness and the integrative regulation of resting blood pressure
Date Issued
01 January 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Simpson L.L.
Meah V.L.
Steele A.R.
Gasho C.
Howe C.A.
Dawkins T.G.
Busch S.A.
Oliver S.J.
Moralez G.
Lawley J.S.
Tymko M.M.
Ainslie P.N.
Stembridge M.
Steinback C.D.
Moore J.P.
Publisher(s)
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
New Findings: What is the central question of this study? Does chronic mountain sickness (CMS) alter sympathetic neural control and arterial baroreflex regulation of blood pressure in Andean (Quechua) highlanders? What is the main finding and its importance? Compared to healthy Andean highlanders, basal sympathetic vasomotor outflow is lower, baroreflex control of muscle sympathetic nerve activity is similar, supine heart rate is lower and cardiovagal baroreflex gain is greater in mild CMS. Taken together, these findings reflect flexibility in integrative regulation of blood pressure that may be important when blood viscosity and blood volume are elevated in CMS. Abstract: The high-altitude maladaptation syndrome chronic mountain sickness (CMS) is characterized by excessive erythrocytosis and frequently accompanied by accentuated arterial hypoxaemia. Whether altered autonomic cardiovascular regulation is apparent in CMS is unclear. Therefore, during the 2018 Global REACH expedition to Cerro de Pasco, Peru (4383 m), we assessed integrative control of blood pressure (BP) and determined basal sympathetic vasomotor outflow and arterial baroreflex function in eight Andean natives with CMS ([Hb] 22.6 ± 0.9 g·dL−1) and seven healthy highlanders ([Hb] 19.3 ± 0.8 g·dL−1). R–R interval (RRI, electrocardiogram), beat-by-beat BP (photoplethysmography) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA; microneurography) were recorded at rest and during pharmacologically induced changes in BP (modified Oxford test). Although [Hb] and blood viscosity (7.8 ± 0.7 vs. 6.6 ± 0.7 cP; d = 1.7, P = 0.01) were elevated in CMS compared to healthy highlanders, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance and mean BP were similar between groups. The vascular sympathetic baroreflex MSNA set-point (i.e. MSNA burst incidence) and reflex gain (i.e. responsiveness) were also similar between groups (MSNA set-point, d = 0.75, P = 0.16; gain, d = 0.2, P = 0.69). In contrast, in CMS the cardiovagal baroreflex operated around a longer RRI (960 ± 159 vs. 817 ± 50 ms; d = 1.4, P = 0.04) with a greater reflex gain (17.2 ± 6.8 vs. 8.8 ± 2.6 ms·mmHg−1; d = 1.8, P = 0.01) versus healthy highlanders. Basal sympathetic vasomotor activity was also lower compared to healthy highlanders (33 ± 11 vs. 45 ± 13 bursts·min−1; d = 1.0, P = 0.08). In conclusion, our findings indicate adaptive differences in basal sympathetic vasomotor activity and heart rate compensate for the haemodynamic consequences of excessive erythrocyte volume and contribute to integrative blood pressure regulation in Andean highlanders with mild CMS.
Start page
104
End page
116
Volume
106
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Sistema cardiaco, Sistema cardiovascular
Fisiología
Subjects
DOI
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85084573119
PubMed ID
Source
Experimental Physiology
ISSN of the container
09580670
Sponsor(s)
We would like to thank all those who volunteered their time to participate in this study. We would also like to thank our Peruvian collaborators and the staff at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia's high‐altitude research laboratory in Cerro de Pasco for their support both before and during data collection. The 2018 Global REACH expedition to Cerro de Pasco was supported by a Canada Research Chair in cerebrovascular physiology (P.N.A.) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (P.N.A., C.D.S.) and a Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSFC) joint national and Alberta New Investigator Award (HSFC NNIA, C.D.S.). This research was also supported by The Physiological Society research grant scheme (M.S.), Santander Mobility fund (L.L.S., T.G.D., M.S., J.P.M.) and Gilchrist Educational Trust (L.L.S., J.P.M., M.S.).
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus