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High altitude causes the heart to pump harder because there's less o2 for the body. Heart ejection fraction decreases in old age hence an old heart pumping harder for longer. A recipe for a heart attack.
I found the following online. It mentions the threshold of approximately 8200 ft. as the elevation where troubles tend to begin:
"..Other patients appear to have a genetic predisposition to high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), which usually occurs within the first four days of arrival at high altitude. HAPE relates to increased intravascular pulmonary vasoconstriction plus pulmonary vascular endothelial dysfunction. The rapid onset of HAPE causes what Dr. Higgins calls a “full-blown episode of pulmonary edema (and) class IV heart failure,”..
..Patients with arrhythmias will become more tachycardic and patients being rate-contolled, such as those with atrial fibrillation, may benefit from an uptitration of their beta-blocker to compensate for the increased heart rate produced by higher epinephrine levels and sympathetic activity.
High altitudes may also impact patients with adult congenital heart disease, who are at risk due to increased right-to-left shunting. These individuals should avoid going higher than 8,000 feet, if possible.
In general, clinicians should talk to their patients about the physiologic changes at high altitude and make sure they adequately prepare for the activity. In healthy patients, an exercise treadmill test may be considered for anyone over the age of 40 to assess cardiac fitness prior to the activity. Physical conditioning prior to high-altitude activity is advised, too, as is appropriate hydration and curtailing of caffeine and alcohol..."
I looked up the Annapurna Circuit and it does look interesting.
I heard this morning that they are thinking about relocating the Everest Base Camp due to glaciers melting.
Annapurna circuit is very nice but a lot of new roads in the area make parts of it less compelling than it used to be. Annapurna base camp, different from circuit, was our first trek in Nepal.
Everyone has favorites but EBC is ours, but there are many treks we have not tried. Aside from the lack of time (working), we have not been back due to Covid. Also, a risk that has grown is the risk of glacial lake bursts due to climate change. It was always there but has accelerated. The following is not the most informative article but useful context.
Lived for years in West Central NM at 7600 feet, was outside a lot cutting firewood and the like, so in good cardiovascular shape.
Working in ABQ now, so more of a lowlander you could say. Ha!
There is a great book about New Mexico, called Querencia by Stephen Bodio. Has a fascinating chapter about the western half and how high a rate of melanoma is found in the population due to being so high, dry and lower in latitude comparatively. NM also has fairly high rates of the plague, and of course HantaVirus too.
But looking at the glow from the Milky Way at night is so awesome and it makes all the other things worthwhile to put up with [of course the odds are quite low].
Anyway, altitude sickness is certainly there, especially when flying from sea level to 10k+ feet in 2-3 hours.
I am peeling now like I haven't since a teenager. All from a couple hours in the hot pool with our legs stretched out in front of us underwater. That blows me away. I even got my knees burned right through yoga pants!
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Thanks for relaying your experience, it is surprising the extent of the sun exposure you got, and I'll keep that in mind because I expect to enjoy a warm pool as well. I will bring sunscreen and stay very covered.
I'm likely heading to Quito next month and am concerned about the elevation which according to what I read is around 9300' in Quito. I happen to have an Oxygen Concentrator which I normally sell, but I'm thinking of keeping one and bringing it with me. It is small enough to fit in my suitcase. Has anybody here used one?
My intent was to be somewhat active, perhaps play a little golf with my daughter or at least walk the course. I recall within the last couple years I got a mild headache when I went to Big Bear California which is only 6500'. From what I read, when flying into Quito there isn't any close by places to stay where the altitude is much different.
There are three problems with altitude for some. First is the lower oxygen tension. If you normally have a saturation of 88% at sea level you already have a problem, going up in altitude is only going to make it worse. Second, to compensate for the lower oxygen tension you tend to breath deeper and faster. That blows off more CO2 and that can result in a respiratory alkalosis and you get dizzy due to the lower CO2 level. Third and the most dangerous is some people are just at the edge of pulmonary edema. The lower air pressure at altitude might just be enough to cause a serious acute bout of pulmonary edema. The first two problems you can more or less fix with supplemental oxygen. The third one requires you getting back into higher air pressure. You either need to get to a lower altitude fast or get into a hyperbaric chamber or into a portable hyperbaric bag, which is like a sleeping bag except it is sealed. Someone on the outside uses a foot pump to pressurize the bag to sea level pressure, which should take care of the pulmonary edema. If you have any kind of lung or circulation problem, going down to Peru to see the ruins at 10,000 feet might not be the place to start.
This happened to my 80-year-old father-in-law at only 6500 feet. Unfortunately, that's where their vacation cabin was. He was unaware of his reduced lung function as he hadn't been to the cabin a in a couple years. He called his doctor and they told him to leave ASAP. After that they could no longer use their cabin and he couldn't return to high elevation again.
We've used the cabin many times since, but have never had issues. It's perfectly normal for healthy people to be very short of breath when exerting themselves above 6,000 feet. It's not normal to be short of breath at that elevation WITHOUT EXERTION. If you must go higher for any extended length of time (more than a few hours), acclimate at lower elevation for a few days before going higher. If you have reduced lung function, I wouldn't even attempt it.
I have no problem living at 5500 ft elevation in New Mexico or moving up to 7000 (Santa Fe) or briefly to 10,000. I had some issues in Cuzco but part of that was airline food poisoning.
Thanks for relaying your experience, it is surprising the extent of the sun exposure you got, and I'll keep that in mind because I expect to enjoy a warm pool as well. I will bring sunscreen and stay very covered.
I'm likely heading to Quito next month and am concerned about the elevation which according to what I read is around 9300' in Quito. I happen to have an Oxygen Concentrator which I normally sell, but I'm thinking of keeping one and bringing it with me. It is small enough to fit in my suitcase. Has anybody here used one?
My intent was to be somewhat active, perhaps play a little golf with my daughter or at least walk the course. I recall within the last couple years I got a mild headache when I went to Big Bear California which is only 6500'. From what I read, when flying into Quito there isn't any close by places to stay where the altitude is much different.
No, haven't used one. My 75 year old neighbor in Hawaii now does after an accident caused some temporary lung damage. He wears a finger oximeter that will alert him when oxygen saturation gets low. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have one of these on hand, plus a small, battery charged concentrator.
A neighbor in Alaska has visited Quito several times on business related travel. She always reports having some trouble with acclimating. Bad headaches and fatigue.
For me, I think an issue would be an inability to sleep well. I experienced that once at high elevation in Colorado as a young man.
No problems at 6100 where I am now but have slight chest pains with exertion when I go above 9000. An older relative recently had to move to lower elevation due to breathing issues at 6000.
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