Andrew Luks - Ward, Milledge and West’s High Altitude Medicine and Physiology

Ward, Milledge and West's

High Altitude
Medicine and
Physiology

Sixth edition published 2021

by CRC Press

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and by CRC Press

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2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

First edition published by Hodder Arnold 1998

Fifth edition published by CRC Press 2012

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. While all reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information,neither the author[s] nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liabilityfor any errors or omissions that may be made. The publishers wish to make clear thatany views or opinions expressed in this book by individual editors, authors, or contributorsare personal to them and do not necessarily reflect the views/opinions of the publishers. The information or guidance contained in this book is intended for use by medical,scientific, or health-care professionals and is provided strictly as a supplementto the medical or other professional's own judgement, their knowledge of thepatient's medical history, relevant manufacturer's instructions, andthe appropriate best practice guidelines. Because of the rapid advances in medicalscience, any information or advice on dosages, procedures, or diagnoses should beindependently verified. The reader is strongly urged to consult the relevant nationaldrug formulary and the drug companies' and device or material manufacturers'printed instructions and their websites before administering or utilizing any of thedrugs, devices, or materials mentioned in this book. This book does not indicate whethera particular treatment is appropriate or suitable for a particular individual. Ultimately,it is the sole responsibility of the medical professional to make his or her own professionaljudgements, so as to advise and treat patients appropriately. The authors and publishershave also attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in thispublication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this formhas not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged, pleasewrite and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.

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ISBN: 978-0-367-00135-3 (hbk)

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We would like to thank Drs. West, Milledge, and Schoene for the opportunity to carry on the work on this book as well as the following individuals for their time and effort in reviewing a great deal of the material in this new edition: Peter Brtsch, Olivier Birot, Jay Carr, William Cornwell, Trevor Day, Jerry Dempsey, Ryan Hoiland, Carsten Lundby, Jonathan Moore, Lorna Moore, Matt Rieger, Peter Robbins, Christoph Siebenmann, Michael Stembridge, Erik Swenson, Josh Tremblay, Francisco Villafuerte, and James Yu. We would also like to thank Richard Salisbury from the Himalayan Database for his work providing data to us that was used to create several new figures for this edition of the book.

Three remarkable men, James Milledge, Michael Ward, and John West came together first while spending six months in a research camp at 5800 m in the Nepalese Himalayas as part of the 196061 Silver Hut Expedition. In the midst of a rich history of major contributions to the field of high altitude medicine and physiology during the last 40 years of the 20th century, the group collaborated once again to create the first edition of this textbook in 1989, with subsequent editions following in 1995 and 2000. On Ward's death in 2005, Robert Brownie Schoene joined Milledge and West as a coauthor for the fourth edition in 2007. This team was then joined by Andrew Luks for the fifth edition in 2013.

With this sixth edition, Jim Milledge, Brownie Schoene, and John West have passed the baton to a younger generation of experts in high altitude medicine and physiology. Led by Andrew Luks, who has been joined in the effort by Philip Ainslie from the University of British Columbia, Justin Lawley of the University of Innsbruck, Robert Roach from the University of Colorado, and Tatum Simonson from the University of California, San Diego, the team has worked hard to maintain the high standards set by the original authors. In addition to changes to the book's organization, major updates have been made to nearly every part of the book to reflect the current state of the research in the field.

As part of the effort to respect the traditions of the book, the new authors have made two symbolic, yet important changes. First, in recognition of the role Jim Milledge, Michael Ward, and John West have played through the years with not only the development of this landmark textbook but also the entire field of high altitude medicine and physiology, the book will hence forth be published under the title Ward, Milledge & West's High Altitude Medicine and Physiology.