Key result
High altitude predisposes to ischemia and arrhythmias, with SCD accounting for ~30% of mountain sports deaths.
Why the study?
What is the evidence for cardiac arrhythmias at high altitude?
What is the evidence for cardiac arrhythmias at high altitude?
High altitude predisposes individuals to cardiac arrhythmias and ischemia, with sudden cardiac death accounting for 30% of deaths during mountain sports.
Supports pre-ascent cardiac risk assessment for mountain sports; leaves open prospective validation of preventive strategies.
Palpitations at high altitude have been experienced, but seldom recorded, for centuries. The hypoxia, sympathetic activation and alkalosis of altitude predispose to cardiac ischaemia and arrhythmia. Indeed, sudden cardiac death is responsible for 30% of all deaths during mountain sports at altitude. This article reviews the literature to date on the evidence for cardiac arrhythmias at altitude.
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Woods et al. (2011) studied this question. High altitude predisposes to cardiac ischemia and arrhythmias, with sudden cardiac death accounting for 30% of all deaths during mountain sports at altitude.
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