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As HVR is a response to decreased oxygen availability, [1] it shares the same environmental triggers as hypoxia. Such precursors include travelling to high altitude locations [6] and living in an environment with high levels of carbon monoxide. [7] Combined with climate, HVR can affect fitness and hydration. [2]
Altitude acclimatization is the process of adjusting to decreasing oxygen levels at higher elevations, in order to avoid altitude sickness. [17] Once above approximately 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) – a pressure of 70 kilopascals (0.69 atm) – most climbers and high-altitude trekkers take the "climb-high, sleep-low" approach.
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 .
For this reason, some climbers carry supplemental oxygen to prevent hypoxia, edema, and HAPE. The standard drug treatment of dexamethasone does not alter the hypoxia or the consequent vasoconstriction, but stimulates fluid reabsorption in the lungs to reverse the edema. Additionally, several studies on native populations remaining at high ...
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)).
For example, in high altitude, the arterial oxygen PaO 2 is low but only because the alveolar oxygen (PAO 2) is also low. However, in states of ventilation perfusion mismatch, such as pulmonary embolism or right-to-left shunt, oxygen is not effectively transferred from the alveoli to the blood which results in an elevated A-a gradient.
At 4000 m, raising the oxygen concentration level by 5% via an oxygen concentrator and an existing ventilation system provides an altitude equivalent of 3000 m, which is much more tolerable for the increasing number of low-landers who work in high altitude. [102]
An oxygen partial pressure equivalent to sea level can be maintained at an altitude of 10,000 metres (34,000 ft) with 100% oxygen. Above 12,000 metres (40,000 ft), positive pressure breathing with 100% oxygen is essential, as without positive pressure even very short exposures to altitudes above 13,000 metres (43,000 ft) lead to loss of ...