High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema in the Children and Young Adults of Leadville, Colorado

High-altitude pulmonary edema is an unusual form of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema that develops in a few persons with acute exposure to altitudes above 2700 meters. Although its occurrence in North America has been documented in scattered case reports involving persons from low altitudes who ascend to high altitude for mountaineering and skiing,1 2 3 4 5 6 its occurrence among populations residing at high altitude in North America has not been detailed. However, physicians in Leadville, Colorado, the highest permanent community in North America, have for many years observed acute pulmonary edema in residents who returned to Leadville after a visit to low altitude. Leadville . . .