Changes of autonomic nervous system function in healthy young men during initial phase at acute high-altitude exposure

Abstract

Objective To investigate the changes of autonomic nervous system (ANS) function during the initial phase at acute high-altitude exposure. Methods Ninety-nine healthy sea-level male residents were studied in Chengdu plain and then Tibet plateau. Heart rate variability (HRV), cold pressor test (CPT), resting heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured at baseline (560 m altitude) and in 2 to 4 d after arriving at Tibet plateau (3 675 m altitude) to assess the ANS function. Results Compared with baseline, on day 2 in Tibet the standard deviation of normal to normal intervals (SDNN), high-frequency (HF) power, total power (TP), root mean square of delta RR (rMSSD), percentage of delta RR > 50 ms (PNN 50), normalized high-frequency (HFnu) and fractal dimension (FD) decreased significantly (SDNN, HF, TP P < 0.01, rMSSD, PNN 50, HFnu, FD P < 0.05), while the normalized low-frequency (LFnu) and LF/HF increased significantly ( P < 0.01). During day 3–4 in Tibet, SDNN, rMSSD, HF, TP and HFnu tended to rebound while LFnu and LF/HF decreased towards baseline day by day. In addition, in Tibet the increase in systolic pressure (SP) and diastolic pressure (DP) during CPT decreased significantly ( P < 0.01, 0.05), but resting HR increased compared with baseline ( P < 0.01). Conclusion ANS modulation is generally blunted, and the relatively predominant sympathetic control is enhanced originally, then it reverts to the sea level states gradually during the initial days of acute high-altitude exposure.