Background: The influence of moderate altitude on the cardiovascular system in patients with metabolic syndrome has not been investigated sufficiently, yet. T he aim of this study was to assess the effect of acute and...Background: The influence of moderate altitude on the cardiovascular system in patients with metabolic syndrome has not been investigated sufficiently, yet. T he aim of this study was to assess the effect of acute and mid-term exposure to moderate altitude(1700 m) on endothelial function in patients with metabolic sy ndrome. Methods: Flow-medi-ated(FMD) and nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation( NMD) were assessed in 18 patients with coronary risk factors on 5 occasions:(1) at location A(576 m),(2) on the first day at moderate altitude(location B, 1700 m),(3) after 3 weeks at moderate altitude,(4) and(5) again at location A(6 and 1 6 weeks after the stay at moderate altitude, respectively). In addition, markers of lipid metabolism, serum erythropoietin and endothelin were measured. Results : FMD on the first day at moderate altitude was similar compared to baseline FMD at location A(7.0±3.3 vs. 7.4±4.6%; NS). A 3-week stay at moderate altitude was associated with a significant reduction in FMD(7.4±4.6 vs. 3.8±2.5%; p< 0.05) despite a decrease in baseline diameter(4.5±0.3 vs. 4.3±0.4 mm; p< 0.05) . Six weeks after returning to location A, FMD was still reduced compared to bas eline(4.3±2.8%; p< 0.05) and after further 16 weeks, FMD returned to baseline values(5.5±3.5%). However, metabolic parameters improved significantly. In contrast, NMD and endo thelin levels remained unchanged. Conclusion: In patients with metabolic syndrom e, a sojourn of 3 weeks at moderate altitude leads to a prolonged, but reversibl e impairment of FMD. The discrepancy to improvement of other cardiovascular and metabolic parameters requires further investigation.展开更多
文摘Background: The influence of moderate altitude on the cardiovascular system in patients with metabolic syndrome has not been investigated sufficiently, yet. T he aim of this study was to assess the effect of acute and mid-term exposure to moderate altitude(1700 m) on endothelial function in patients with metabolic sy ndrome. Methods: Flow-medi-ated(FMD) and nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation( NMD) were assessed in 18 patients with coronary risk factors on 5 occasions:(1) at location A(576 m),(2) on the first day at moderate altitude(location B, 1700 m),(3) after 3 weeks at moderate altitude,(4) and(5) again at location A(6 and 1 6 weeks after the stay at moderate altitude, respectively). In addition, markers of lipid metabolism, serum erythropoietin and endothelin were measured. Results : FMD on the first day at moderate altitude was similar compared to baseline FMD at location A(7.0±3.3 vs. 7.4±4.6%; NS). A 3-week stay at moderate altitude was associated with a significant reduction in FMD(7.4±4.6 vs. 3.8±2.5%; p< 0.05) despite a decrease in baseline diameter(4.5±0.3 vs. 4.3±0.4 mm; p< 0.05) . Six weeks after returning to location A, FMD was still reduced compared to bas eline(4.3±2.8%; p< 0.05) and after further 16 weeks, FMD returned to baseline values(5.5±3.5%). However, metabolic parameters improved significantly. In contrast, NMD and endo thelin levels remained unchanged. Conclusion: In patients with metabolic syndrom e, a sojourn of 3 weeks at moderate altitude leads to a prolonged, but reversibl e impairment of FMD. The discrepancy to improvement of other cardiovascular and metabolic parameters requires further investigation.
