Severe acute mountain sickness, brain natriuretic peptide and NT-proBNP in humans.

Aim To examine the response of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and NT-proBNP to high altitude (HA) both at rest and following exercise. Methods We measured NT-proBNP and BNP and Lake Louise (LL) acute mountain sickness (AMS) scores in 20 subjects at rest in Kathmandu (Kat; 1300 m), following exercise and at rest at 4270 and 5150 m. Results BNP and NT-proBNP (pg ml−1, mean ± SEM) rose significantly from Kat (9.2 ± 2 and 36.9 ± 6.6, respectively) to arrival at 4270 m after exercise (16.6 ± 4 and 152 ± 56.1, P = 0.008 and P   6) AMS (58.4 ± 18.7) compared with those without (BNP 22.7 ± 8.6, P = 0.048). There were significant correlations between change in body water from baseline to 5150 m with both BNP and NT-proBNP (ρ 0.77, P = 0.001, ρ 0.745, P = 0.002 respectively). Conclusion In conclusion, these data suggest that BNP and NT-proBNP increase with ascent to HA both after exercise and at rest. We also report the novel finding that BNP is significantly greater in those with severe AMS at 5150 m.