Acute mountain sickness and the edemas of high altitude: a common pathogenesis?

Author:

Hackett, Peter H., Rennie, Drummond, Grover, Robert F., Reeves, John T.

Title:

Acute mountain sickness and the edemas of high altitude: a common pathogenesis?

Periodical:

Respiration Physiology

Year:

1981

Volume:

46

Pages:

383-390

Subject:

Altitude mountain sickness (AMS) Cerebral edema Edema High altitude Peripheral edema Pulmonary edema Acute mountain sickness (AMS)

Summary:

Within days of ascent to high altitude, when symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS) are common, High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, (HAPE), and High Altitude Cerebral Edema, (HACE) may also develop. Although Peripheral Edema of the hands, face or feet may also appear, its association with AMS is unclear. As a result, the objective of this study was to determine whether an increase in total body water, that may be reflected as weight gain early during the course of altitude exposure, is associated with the less severe symptoms of acute mountain sickness and the above-mentioned edemas. If so, it was felt that this would indicate that: 1) fluid retention is an early common factor in their pathogenesis and 2) that these clinical entities represent a spectrum of the same basic underlying pathophysiology.

Label:

Altitude Mountain Sickness (AMS)

Date:

1981

Collection:

Periodicals