Effect of different high altitudes on vascular endothelial function in healthy people

Abstract

Background:The aim of the study was to provide a theoretical basis for the early diagnosis and prediction of acute altitude sickness, to provide a better entry mode for healthy people from plain areas to plateau areas, and to preliminarily clarify the possible mechanism of this approach.Methods:We measured endothelin-1 (ET-1), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), nitric oxide (NO), and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) levels in each sample and determined flow-mediated dilation (FMD) values using a portable OMRON color Doppler with a 7.0- to 12.0-MHz linear array probe. We used the Lewis Lake score to diagnose acute mountain sickness (AMS) and to stratify the disease severity.Results:We found no cases of AMS at any of the studied elevation gradients. We found significant differences in FMD values between individuals when at 400m above sea level and when at 2200, 3200, and 4200m above sea level (P <3000m) significantly differed (P .05). NO and HIF-1 levels were significantly different in serum samples from individuals between the plateau (2260m) and plain (400m) areas (P