Preventive Effect of Moderate Altitude on Non-Culprit Lesion Progression in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Wang, Jian, Cheng-Ying Yan, Wu Wang, and Tian-Zhen Wang. Preventive effect of moderate altitude on non-culprit lesion (NCL) progression in patients with acute myocardial infarction. High Alt Med Biol. 23:345-351, 2022. Ischemic postconditioning may prevent NCL progression in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Moderate altitude (1,500-2,500 m) resembles ischemic postconditioning; however, the preventive effect of moderate altitude on NCL progression is unknown. We investigated the preventive effect of moderate altitude on NCL progression in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). This study was an observational study. Two-hundred patients with STEMI living in Beijing, which is an average of 43.5 m above sea level (a low-altitude region), who underwent PPCI were enrolled (the control group). A further 200 patients with STEMI living in Xining, which is an average of 2,261 m above sea level (moderate-altitude region), who underwent PPCI were enrolled (the moderate-altitude group). NCL progression and related clinical factors were compared between the two groups. The rate of NCL progression 12 months after PPCI in the moderate-altitude group was significantly lower compared with the control group (p < 0.01). There were 158 patients without NCL progression (group A) and 42 patients with NCL progression (group B) in the control group and 186 patients without NCL progression (group C) and 14 patients with NCL progression (group D) in the moderate-altitude group. Serum adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations in group B were significantly higher compared with group A (p < 0.001), and serum adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations in group D were significantly higher compared with group C (p < 0.001). Serum adrenaline, noradrenaline, and C-reactive protein concentrations in patients without NCL progression (n = 344) were significantly lower compared with patients with NCL progression (n = 56) (p < 0.01). Moderate altitude may prevent NCL progression. Moderate altitude may be useful for clinical rehabilitation in patients with STEMI after PPCI.