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High Altitude and Blood Pressure: Clinical Implications

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Exercise, Sports and Hypertension

Part of the book series: Updates in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection ((UHCP))

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Abstract

Ascending to high altitude (HA) carries exposure to extreme environmental conditions, including low temperatures and air humidity, high level of UV radiation and, foremostly, low atmospheric pressure leading to reduced oxygen availability. The response of human body to HA exposure is complex and involves a number of physiological changes, mainly of adaptive character but sometimes leading to maladaptation and consequent pathological conditions such as acute mountain sickness (including its more severe forms such as high altitude pulmonary edema and high-altitude cerebral edema) and chronic mountain sickness. Arterial blood pressure (BP) is not immune to HA influence, its modifications being the net result of changes in local regulation of microcirculation, autonomic nervous system activity, blood volume and density, cardiac function and arterial wall properties. This chapter discusses the currently available evidence on the BP changes during HA exposures of varying duration, the underlying mechanisms, the possible clinical implications and therapeutic aspects. Epidemiology of hypertension in permanent HA inhabitants is also addressed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Grzegorz Bilo & Gianfranco Parati

  2. Department of Cardiology, San Luca Hospital, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Milan, Italy

    Grzegorz Bilo, Martino Pengo, Camilla Torlasco, Sergio Caravita & Gianfranco Parati

  3. University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

    Grzegorz Bilo, Martino Pengo, Camilla Torlasco, Sergio Caravita & Gianfranco Parati

  4. Department of Management Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo, Dalmine, BG, Italy

    Sergio Caravita

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  1. Grzegorz Bilo
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  2. Martino Pengo
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  3. Camilla Torlasco
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  4. Sergio Caravita
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  5. Gianfranco Parati
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Correspondence to Gianfranco Parati .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Studium Patavinum, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Paolo Palatini

  2. Dept of Clinical and Experimental Sci, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Enrico Agabiti-Rosei

  3. Emeritus Professor, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy

    Giuseppe Mancia

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Bilo, G., Pengo, M., Torlasco, C., Caravita, S., Parati, G. (2022). High Altitude and Blood Pressure: Clinical Implications. In: Palatini, P., Agabiti-Rosei, E., Mancia, G. (eds) Exercise, Sports and Hypertension. Updates in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07958-0_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07958-0_14

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