Pichon et al. (2013) identified left ventricular hypertrophy in pikas and showed that the heart exhibits increased angiogenesis mediated by the VEGF pathway. These results are similar to our findings and show that the heart of pikas has adaptively evolved under long-term exposure to high altitudes by strengthening the myocardial connective tissue band to provide structure and support to the heart, ensuring that the ventricle can drive blood flow and intermittently deliver blood to various parts of the body under high-altitude pressure (Saremi et al., 2017). The gene discussed is VEGFA; the disease is left ventricular hypertrophy.