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The effects of high altitude on humans are mostly the consequences of reduced partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere. The medical problems that are direct consequence of high altitude are caused by the low inspired partial pressure of oxygen, which is caused by the reduced atmospheric pressure, and the constant gas fraction of oxygen in ...
The most serious symptoms of altitude sickness arise from edema (fluid accumulation in the tissues of the body). At very high altitude, humans can get either high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), or high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE). The physiological cause of altitude-induced edema is not conclusively established.
Aviation physiology can also include the effect in humans and animals exposed for long periods of time inside pressurized cabins. [ 2 ] The other main issue with altitude is hypoxia, caused by both the lack of barometric pressure and the decrease in oxygen as the body rises. [ 3 ]
High-altitude adaptation in humans is an instance of evolutionary modification in certain human populations, including those of Tibet in Asia, the Andes of the Americas, and Ethiopia in Africa, who have acquired the ability to survive at altitudes above 2,500 meters (8,200 ft). [1]
Re-entry HAPE is also an entity that has been described in persons who normally live at high altitude but who develop pulmonary edema after returning from a stay at low altitude. [3] If HAPE is not treated, there is a 50% risk of mortality. [4] Symptoms include crackling sounds when breathing, dyspnea (at rest), and cyanosis. [4]
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.
The Armstrong limit or Armstrong's line is a measure of altitude above which atmospheric pressure is sufficiently low that water boils at the normal temperature of the human body. Exposure to pressure below this limit results in a rapid loss of consciousness, followed by a series of changes to cardiovascular and neurological functions, and ...
Hypobaric chamber at the Biopol'H, in Catalonia (), used with patients and athletes who need treatment or training with reduced atmospheric pressure. A hypobaric chamber, or altitude chamber, is a chamber used during aerospace or high terrestrial altitude research or training to simulate the effects of high altitude on the human body, especially hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypobaria (low ambient ...