Does intermediate high-altitude level affect major cardiovascular outcomes of patients acute myocardial infarction treated by primary coronary angioplasty? Preliminary results of observational study

Abstract

There is a positive correlation between increasing altitude and thrombosis of coronary arteries. Many of the previous studies have shown that altitude generates a thrombogenic environment, and so cardiovascular event (CV) events are more common at high altitudes (1). A study reported that acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have been shown to occur earlier ages at higher altitudes. The hypoxic environment of the high altitude primarily affects the respiratory and hematologic systems in the human adaptive system. Elevated hemoglobin (Hb) concentration with altitude has been shown to cause raised CV event incidence by creating an environment with higher viscosity. Coagulation factors increase with exposure to higher altitudes and they play important role in the trombogenic events. Hypercoagulability occurs rapidly after exposure to high altitude and peaks at the end of the first week. Increasing altitude is associated with elevated factor 10-12 levels, shortened prothrombin time, and impairment of clot retraction. An another study showed that mean platelet volume (MPV) was increased in ACS patients living at high altitudes, and elevated MPV was claimed to be one of the causes underlying the thrombogenic environment induced by the high altitude