Scientometrics
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Cardiol. Apr 26, 2024; 16(4): 199-214
Published online Apr 26, 2024. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v16.i4.199
The cardiovascular system at high altitude: A bibliometric and visualization analysis
Mao-Lin Zhao, Zhong-Jie Lu, Li Yang, Sheng Ding, Feng Gao, Yuan-Zhang Liu, Xue-Lin Yang, Xia Li, Si-Yi He
Mao-Lin Zhao, Zhong-Jie Lu, Li Yang, Sheng Ding, Feng Gao, Yuan-Zhang Liu, Xue-Lin Yang, Xia Li, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The General Hospital of Western Theater Command, College of Medicine, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China
Si-Yi He, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhao ML contributed to formal analysis, software, and manuscript drafting; Lu ZJ and Yang L contributed to software and visualization; Liu YZ contributed to visualization and manuscript drafting; Yang XL contributed to manuscript drafting; Li X contributed to software; Ding S contributed to reviewing and editing of the manuscript; Gao F contributed to supervision and manuscript reviewing and editing; He SY contributed to conceptualization, supervision, fund acquisition, and manuscript reviewing and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province, No. 2022NSFSC1295; the 2021 Annal Project of the General Hospital of Western Theater Command, No. 2021-XZYG-B31.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Si-Yi He, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The General Hospital of Western Theater Command, No. 270 Rongdu Avenue, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China. hesiyi@vip.163.com
Received: November 22, 2023
Peer-review started: November 22, 2023
First decision: January 23, 2024
Revised: February 14, 2024
Accepted: April 1, 2024
Article in press: April 1, 2024
Published online: April 26, 2024
Processing time: 152 Days and 22.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

When exposed to high-altitude environments, the cardiovascular system undergoes various changes, the performance and mechanisms of which remain controversial.

AIM

To summarize the latest research advancements and hot research points in the cardiovascular system at high altitude by conducting a bibliometric and visualization analysis.

METHODS

The literature was systematically retrieved and filtered using the Web of Science Core Collection of Science Citation Index Expanded. A visualization analysis of the identified publications was conducted employing CiteSpace and VOSviewer.

RESULTS

A total of 1674 publications were included in the study, with an observed annual increase in the number of publications spanning from 1990 to 2022. The United States of America emerged as the predominant contributor, while Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia stood out as the institution with the highest publication output. Notably, Jean-Paul Richalet demonstrated the highest productivity among researchers focusing on the cardiovascular system at high altitude. Furthermore, Peter Bärtsch emerged as the author with the highest number of cited articles. Keyword analysis identified hypoxia, exercise, acclimatization, acute and chronic mountain sickness, pulmonary hypertension, metabolism, and echocardiography as the primary research hot research points and emerging directions in the study of the cardiovascular system at high altitude.

CONCLUSION

Over the past 32 years, research on the cardiovascular system in high-altitude regions has been steadily increasing. Future research in this field may focus on areas such as hypoxia adaptation, metabolism, and cardiopulmonary exercise. Strengthening interdisciplinary and multi-team collaborations will facilitate further exploration of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying cardiovascular changes in high-altitude environments and provide a theoretical basis for standardized disease diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Cardiovascular system; High altitude; Hypoxia; Bibliometric analysis; Visualization

Core Tip: In this study, a bibliometric and visualization analysis was conducted to summarize the latest research advancements in the cardiovascular system at high altitude. Based on 1674 publications included, we provide a comprehensive description of countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords involved in this field. Our findings would be helpful in investigating the mechanisms that affect the cardiovascular system at high altitude and the future clinical applications.