Exercise performance is determined by oxygen supply to working muscles and vital organs. In healthy individuals, exercise performance is limited in the hypoxic environment at altitude, when oxygen delivery is diminished due to the reduced alveolar and arterial oxygen partial pressures. In patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), exercise performance is already reduced near sea level due to impairments of the pulmonary circulation and gas exchange, and, presumably, these limitations are more pronounced at altitude. In studies performed near sea level in healthy subjects, as well as in patients with PH, maximal performance during progressive ramp exercise and endurance of submaximal constant-load exercise were substantially enhanced by breathing oxygen-enriched air. Both in healthy individuals and in PH patients, these improvements were mediated by a better arterial, muscular, and cerebral oxygenation, along with a reduced sympathetic excitation, as suggested by the reduced heart rate and alveolar ventilation at submaximal isoloads, and an improved pulmonary gas exchange efficiency, especially in patients with PH. In summary, in healthy individuals and in patients with PH, alterations in the inspiratory Po2 by exposure to hypobaric hypoxia or normobaric hyperoxia reduce or enhance exercise performance, respectively, by modifying oxygen delivery to the muscles and the brain, by effects on cardiovascular and respiratory control, and by alterations in pulmonary gas exchange. The understanding of these physiological mechanisms helps in counselling individuals planning altitude or air travel and prescribing oxygen therapy to patients with PH.
Keywords: exercise; hyperoxia; hypoxia; pulmonary hypertension.