Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2018; 11(01): 20-24
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20180005
SHORT COMMUNICATION

Sleep respiratory disturbances during the ascent to Mount Aconcagua

Alvaro Emilio Ortiz-Naretto
1   Hospital Francisco Muñiz, Medicine Respiratory Unit - Buenos Aires City - Buenos Aires - Argentina.
3   Asociación Andina de Medicina para la Altura, Curso Medicina para la Altura - Mendoza City - Mendoza - Argentina.
4   Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Medicine Respiratory Unit - Buenos Aires City - Buenos Aires - Argentina.
,
Miriam Patricia Pereiro
2   Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sarda, Central Laboratory - Buenos Aires City - Buenos Aires - Argentina.
3   Asociación Andina de Medicina para la Altura, Curso Medicina para la Altura - Mendoza City - Mendoza - Argentina.
,
Glenda Ernst
4   Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Medicine Respiratory Unit - Buenos Aires City - Buenos Aires - Argentina.
,
Eduardo Enrique Borsini
4   Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Medicine Respiratory Unit - Buenos Aires City - Buenos Aires - Argentina.
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Introduction: Mountaineers exposed to hypobaric hypoxia (HH) show high-altitude periodic breathing (PB).

Objective: To analyze high-altitude PB during the ascent of Mount Aconcagua (Argentina).

Materials and Methods: Descriptive study in healthy volunteers using respiratory polygraphy (RP) at different altitudes.

Results: We studied 8 andinist, mean age: 36 years old (25-51), body mass index (BMI) of 23.6 (20.9-28.7) and 22.77 (20.9-27.7) upon return,p<0.01. RP without PB showed a lower Oxygen Desaturation Index (ODI) and a lower Apnea-Hypopnea-Index (AHI); 5.43 (0 - 20) versus 45.95 (2-122) p<0.001 and 3.9 (0-15.5) versus 44.35 (4-115) p<0.001. AHI increased with altitude at the expense of central apneas and hypopneas: p<0.05.

Conclusion: High-altitude PB is frequent above 2,581m.a.s.l. And it is characterized by short cycles. None of the mountaineers showed PB at baseline; however, high-altitude PB occurred in all subjects above 4,900 m.a.s.l

Sleep Apnea, Central - Sleep Apnea Syndromes - Cheyne-Stokes Respiration


Publication History

Received: 27 July 2017

Accepted: 27 December 2017

Article published online:
13 October 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil

 

  • REFERENCES

  • 1 Mosso A. Respiration on the Mountains. In: Mosso A. Life of Man on the High Alps. London: T Fisher Unwin; 1898. p. 31-50.
  • 2 Andrews G, Ainslie PN, Shepherd K, Dawson A, Swart M, Lucas S, et al. The effect of partial acclimatization to high altitude on loop gain and central sleep apnoea severity. Respirology. 2012;17(5):835-40. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1843.2012.02170.x
  • 3 Ernst G, Bosio M, Salvado A, Nogueira F, Nigro C, Borsini E. Comparative Study between Sequential Automatic and Manual Home Respiratory Polygraphy Scoring Using a Three-Channel Device: Impact of the Manual Editing of Events to Identify Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Sleep Disord. 2015;2015:314534. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/314534
  • 4 Berry RB, Budhiraja R, Gottlieb DJ, Gozal D, Iber C, Kapur VK, et al.; American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Rules for scoring respiratory events in sleep: update of the 2007 AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events. Deliberations of the Sleep Apnea Definitions Task Force of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. J Clin Sleep Med. 2012;8(5):597-619.
  • 5 Edwards BA, Sands SA, Owens RL, White DP, Genta PR, Butler JP, et al. Effects of hyperoxia and hypoxia on the physiological traits responsible for obstructive sleep apnoea. J Physiol. 2014;592(20):4523-35. PMID: 25085887 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2014.277210
  • 6 Burgess KR, Ainslie PN. Central Sleep Apnea at High Altitude. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016;903:275-83.
  • 7 West JB, Peters RM Jr, Aksnes G, Maret KH, Milledge JS, Schoene RB. Nocturnal periodic breathing at altitude of 6,300 and 8,050 m. J Appl Physiol (1985). 1986;61(1):280-7. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1986.61.1.280
  • 8 Hall MJ, Xie A, Rutherford, Ando S, Floras JS, Bradley TD, et al. Cycle length of periodic breathing in patients with and without heart failure. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1996;154(2 Pt 1):376-81. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1164/ajrccm.154.2.8756809
  • 9 Nussbaumer-Ochsner Y, Ursprung J, Siebenmann C, Maggiorini M, Bloch KE. Effect of short term acclimatization to high altitude on sleep and nocturnal breathing. Sleep. 2012;35(3):419-23. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5665/sleep.1708
  • 10 Lahiri S, Maret K, Sherpa MG. Dependence of high altitude sleep apnea on ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia. Respir Physiol. 1983;52(3):281-301. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0034-5687(83)90086-5