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Sleep Disordered Breathing at High Altitude in Adults and Its Interaction with Cardiovascular Homeostasis

  • Sleep and Sleep Apnea at the Extremes (D Gozal, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Worldwide > 140 million people are living at high altitude and large numbers of lowlanders travel to high altitude for professional reasons or leisure activities. While there is widely held belief that sleep is perturbed at high altitude, little scientific evidence supports this notion. Here, we summarize recent work on sleep at high altitude in newcomers and high-altitude dwellers with particular emphasis on the interactions between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and cardiovascular regulation.

Recent Findings

Recent studies show an interaction between SDB and cardiovascular homeostasis in high-altitude dwellers. In high-altitude dwellers, SDB is associated with pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular dysfunction, premature atherosclerosis in the systemic circulation, and altered regulation of the cerebrovascular circulation related with cognitive decline and depression.

Summary

In high-altitude dwellers, recent studies show a potential role of SDB in promoting cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. There is an urgent need for studies examining the effects of the treatment of SDB on cardiovascular homeostasis and its long-term benefits on cardiovascular morbidity/mortality in high-altitude dwellers.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Placide Nicod Foundation, the Swiss Society of Hypertension, the Swiss Society of Cardiology, and the Mach-Gaensslen Stiftung Schweiz.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Bern and Department for Biomedical Research, Inselspital, University of Bern, 3010, Bern, Switzerland

    Emrush Rexhaj, Rodrigo Soria & Urs Scherrer

  2. Department of Pneumology, University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Anne-Kathrin Brill

  3. Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile

    Urs Scherrer

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  1. Emrush Rexhaj
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  2. Rodrigo Soria
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  3. Anne-Kathrin Brill
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  4. Urs Scherrer
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Correspondence to Urs Scherrer.

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Emrush Rexhaj, Rodrigo Soria, Anne-Kathrin Brill, and Urs Scherrer each declare no financial or other relations that could lead to a conflict of interest.

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Rexhaj, E., Soria, R., Brill, AK. et al. Sleep Disordered Breathing at High Altitude in Adults and Its Interaction with Cardiovascular Homeostasis. Curr Sleep Medicine Rep 5, 49–55 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40675-019-00138-x

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