| Abstract: | Ethnically close male populations aged 30-59 years who reside in high mountains (2800-3600 m above the sea level) and in low lands (800-900 m above the sea level) of the Tien Shan and the Pamirs were screened. The incidence of essential hypertension was found to be significantly lower (4.2%) among the highlanders than in the lowlanders (15.4%). In highlanders, hypertension is characterized by a high concurrence with high-altitude arterial hypertension and right ventricular hypertrophy. Daily urinary aldosterone excretion is substantially lower in residents of high mountains and natriuresis is higher than that in those from low-lands. Sixty-eight patients with mild hypertension took daily treatment as pressure chamber uplifting (3200 m above the sea level; pO2 112 mm Hg) for 15 days and 45 patients with moderate hypertension were treated with medium-land (1600 m; pO2 134 mm Hg) adaptation for 24 days. Pressure chamber hypoxic training and medium-land adaptation in 69% of patients with mild hypertension and 64.4% with moderate hypertension without signs of target organ lesions produced steady antihypertensive effects, a steady-state (for a 1.5-year follow-up) decrease in cardiac mechanical work, peripheral vascular resistance, arterial impedance, and an improvement of physical fitness. It was proposed to use hypoxic (pressure chamber and high-altitude) training for the treatment of early hypertensive disease and its secondary prevention. |
