Oct 26, 2010 - metabolism after a trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp. Cameron J. Holloway,* ... Kieran Clarke,* for the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Research Group.
The FASEB Journal article fj.10-172999. Published online October 26, 2010.
The FASEB Journal • Research Communication
Cardiac response to hypobaric hypoxia: persistent changes in cardiac mass, function, and energy metabolism after a trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp Cameron J. Holloway,*,†,1 Hugh E. Montgomery,‡ Andrew J. Murray,*,†,2 Lowri E. Cochlin,*,† Ion Codreanu,† Naomi Hopwood,* Andrew W. Johnson,*,† Oliver J. Rider,† Denny Z. H. Levett,‡ Damian J. Tyler,*,† Jane M. Francis,† Stefan Neubauer,† Michael P. W. Grocott,‡ and Kieran Clarke,* for the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Research Group *Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics and †The University of Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; and ‡University College London (UCL) Centre for Altitude, Space, and Extreme Environment Medicine, London, UK ABSTRACT We postulated that changes in cardiac highenergy phosphate metabolism may underlie the myocardial dysfunction caused by hypobaric hypoxia. Healthy volunteers (n!14) were studied immediately before, and within 4 d of return from, a 17-d trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp (5300 m). 31P magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy was used to measure cardiac phosphocreatine (PCr)/ATP, and MR imaging and echocardiography were used to assess cardiac volumes, mass, and function. Immediately after returning from Mt. Everest, total body weight had fallen by 3% (P
