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Altitude sickness, the mildest form being acute mountain sickness (AMS), is a harmful effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen at high elevation. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] People's bodies can respond to high altitude in different ways.
Very high altitude = 3,500–5,500 metres (11,500–18,000 ft) Extreme altitude = above 5,500 metres (18,000 ft) Travel to each of these altitude regions can lead to medical problems, from the mild symptoms of acute mountain sickness to the potentially fatal high-altitude pulmonary edema and high-altitude cerebral edema .
Chronic mountain sickness (CMS) is a disease in which the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells increases (polycythaemia) and there is an abnormally low level of oxygen in the blood . CMS typically develops after extended time living at high altitude (over 2,500 metres (8,200 ft)).
High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a life-threatening form of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema that occurs in otherwise healthy people at altitudes typically above 2,500 meters (8,200 ft). [2] HAPE is a severe presentation of altitude sickness. Cases have also been reported between 1,500–2,500 metres or 4,900–8,200 feet in people who ...
High-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) is a medical condition in which the brain swells with fluid because of the physiological effects of traveling to a high altitude. It generally appears in patients who have acute mountain sickness and involves disorientation, lethargy, and nausea among other symptoms.
At very high altitude, from 3,500 to 5,500 metres (11,500 to 18,000 ft) arterial oxygen saturation falls below 90% and arterial P O 2 is reduced to the extent that extreme hypoxemia may occur during exercise and sleep, and if high altitude pulmonary edema occurs. In this range severe altitude illness is common. [2]
The sickness is compounded by related symptoms such as cerebral oedema (swelling of brain) and pulmonary oedema (fluid accumulation in lungs) . [ 17 ] [ 18 ] Over a span of multiple days, individuals experiencing the effects of high-altitude hypoxia demonstrate raised respiratory activity and elevated metabolic conditions which persist during ...
Mountain sickness can refer to: Altitude sickness or acute mountain sickness, a pathological condition that is caused by acute exposure to low air pressure Chronic mountain sickness , a disease that can develop during extended time living at altitude