Open questions which can be addressed with human hypoxia models
Human hypoxia models would be particularly suitable for the testing of pharmacological interventions for pulmonary arterial hypertension that share arterial hypoxia caused by high altitude or by underlying pulmonary disease, as it captures the fundamental pathophysiological mechanism underlying the increased pulmonary vascular resistance. Considering that home oxygen therapy is often effective in reducing dyspnea and improving physical capacity in these conditions, it can be extrapolated that clinical trials under controlled ambient hypoxia can serve as a meaningful research tool. Episodes of desaturation during sleep is another trait of pulmonary arterial hypertension, which could be easily modelled by periodic reduction of ambient oxygen.
The 2022 ESC/ERS Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension call on to perform more studies on the responses of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension at altitude [63]. 120 million people worldwide live above 2500 meters. Because research at geographic altitude can be a logistical challenge, these conditions could be perfectly simulated under the optimal conditions of a laboratory human hypoxia model.