Autonomic cardiovascular function in high-altitude Andean natives with chronic mountain sickness

1 Department of Anesthesiology, University Medical Center, 93042 Regensburg, Germany; 2 Department of Physiological Sciences, Universidad Cayetano Heredia, Lima 700, Peru; 3 Institute of Respiratory Diseases, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy; 4 Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Hematology, and 5 Department of Pathology, University of Pavia and Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy We evaluated autonomic cardiovascular regulation in subjects with polycythemia and chronic mountain sickness (CMS) and tested the hypothesis that an increase in arterial oxygen saturation has a beneficial effect on arterial baroreflex sensitivity in these subjects. Ten Andean natives with a Hct >65% and 10 natives with a Hct 65% showed an increased incidence of CMS compared with subjects with Hct