Individuals susceptible to high altitude pulmonary edema show altered pulmonary vascular
responses within minutes of exposure to hypoxia. We hypothesized that a similar acute-
phase vulnerability to hypoxia may exist in the brain of individuals susceptible to acute
mountain sickness (AMS). In established AMS and high altitude cerebral edema, there is a
propensity for vasogenic white matter edema. We therefore hypothesized that increased
cerebral blood flow (CBF) during acute hypoxia would also be disproportionately greater in …