Can a week at sea level ease sleep and oxygen strain for High-Altitude heart patients?
NCT ID NCT07801963
First seen Sep 03, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are studying what happens when people with pulmonary arterial hypertension who live above 2600 meters spend a week at sea level. The trial compares their sleep, blood oxygen, and breathing during sleep at altitude and after seven days at sea level. It includes both patients and healthy controls who permanently live at high altitude. The goal is to see if a temporary descent improves nighttime oxygen and sleep quality.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Descent to sea level for 7 days, then re-ascent to high altitude
- What this could lead to
- If moving to sea level improves sleep and oxygen levels, it could point to better ways to manage pulmonary arterial hypertension in high-altitude residents.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small study with 20 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The benefits of a week at sea level may fade after returning to altitude.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 80 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adult patients aged 18-80 years and of all genders * Permanent residence \> 2600 m * Diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension PAH (PAHHA-Group) according to guidelines * Patients are stable on therapy * NYHA (new york heart association) functional class I-III. * written informed consent to participate in the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Age \<18 years or \>80 years * unstable condition * Patients who cannot follow the study investigations * Patient permanently living \< 2600m. * Patients who traveled and stayed overnight at altitudes \<2000 m in the past 4 weeks. * Patients with moderate to severe concomitant lung disease (FEV1\<70% or forced vital capacity \<70%), severe parenchymal lung disease, severe smokers (\>20 cigarettes/day) * Severely hypoxemic patients at Quito permanently having persistent SpO2 (oxygen saturation by pulseoximetry) \<80% on ambient air. * Patient with a non-corrected ventricular septum defect * Relevant concomitant other disease of the heart, kidney, liver, blood (anemia hemoglobin\<11 g/dl)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University Hospital of Zurich
Zurich, 8091, Switzerland
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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