Clinical changes of cardiac function from high altitude returning to plain

The clinical feature of cardiac functions in the areas of high altitude and plain still remains unclear. The present study intends to explore the changes of cardiac enzymes and echocardiography in population from high altitude to plain. Medical examinations were performed in a group of young male migrants who worked at high altitude of 4,888 or 5,418 m and returned to the plain of 400 m. Clinical data, including baseline characteristics, hematological and echocardiographic indicators were collected. A total of 36 males aged 23.36 ± 2.43 years old were included. For three myocardial enzymes, only lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) significantly decreased after return to plain. For echocardiography, left atrium diameter (LA), right ventricular outflow tract diameter (RVOT), left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVESD) and left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) were significantly lower at high altitude than those after return to plain. At high altitude, LDH and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) were significantly positively correlated with right atrium diameter (RA), LA and right ventricle diameter (RV). There was no significant correlation between creatine kinase (CK) and eleven echocardiography parameters. At plain, only CK had a significant negative correlation with aortic diameter (AO). For LDH and CK-MB, no significant differences can be found in their correlations with echocardiography parameters. Our study gives a comprehensive clinical feature of cardiac function from high attitude retuning to plain. These findings might be rational to understand the pathological and physiological processes of cardiomyopathic injury and provide new ideas and methods for cardiovascular disease.