Blood Pressure Response in Miners Exposed to Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia in Chile.

Limited information is available on blood pressure (BP) behavior in workers exposed to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), and even less is known regarding effects of CIH on 24-h ambulatory BP in those affected by arterial hypertension at sea level (SL). The aims of this study were to assess clinic and 24-h ambulatory BP at SL and at high altitude (HA; 3,870 m above SL) in workers exposed to CIH, and to compare BP response to HA exposure between normotensive and hypertensive workers. Nineteen normotensive and 18 pharmacologically treated hypertensive miners acclimatized to CIH were included, whose work was organized according to a "7 days-on-7 days-off" shift pattern between SL and HA.