Artificial Hemoglobin

Altitude Training and Effects on Performance

What is high altitude?

Altitude is defined as the following scale:

A: High 8000-12000 feet (2438-3658 meters).

B: Very 12000-18000 feet (3658-5487 meters).

C: Very High 18 000 + feet (5500 meters +).

Since few people have been to such altitudes, it is difficult to know who may be affected. There are no specific factors such as age, sex or physical condition that correlate with susceptibility to altitude. Some people get it and some people did not, and some people are more sensitive than others.

Most people can go up to 8,000 feet (2438 meters) with minimal effect. If you have not been to high altitude before, it is important to be cautious. If you've been at that altitude before without problems, you can probably return to that altitude without problems as long as you are well acclimatized.

Acclimatization.

The main cause of altitude illnesses is going too high too fast. Over time, your body can adapt to reduced oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 1-3 days at this altitude. For example, if you walk at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), and spend several days at that altitude, your body acclimatized to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). If you climb to 12,000 feet (3,658 meters), your body has to acclimatize once again. A number of changes occur in the body to enable it to operate with oxygen decreases.

A: Red Blood Cell Count increases. Lack of oxygen stimulates the release of erythropoietin, the hormone responsible for the production of red blood cells, in 3 hours and reached a peak after 24-48 hours. The concentration of red cells in a given volume of blood is called hematocrit. Residents in sea level, hematocrit is about 45-48%. With six weeks of exposure to an altitude of 4540m (14895ft), these levels may increase to 59%. initial exposure to altitude reduces the plasma volume. However, it begins to increase slightly with long-term acclimatization to altitude.

B: The pulmonary ventilation stabilizes. But it remains high during rest and exercise compared to sea level

C: Under reduced maximal cardiac output. Although submaximal increases cardiac output during the acute phase, following acclimatization to altitude it decreases below the values of sea level. This is mainly due to a further reduction in stroke volume, which probably occurs as changes in the ability to carry oxygen from the blood relieve the burden on the heart.

D: Muscle Cross-sectional area decreases. Studies of muscle biopsies after 4-6 weeks to show that the altitude and slow twitch fast twitch fiber area decreases by as much as 20-25%. This muscle area decreased 11-13%. It is possible that such muscle wasting is due to loss of appetite that often accompanies life at high altitude.

Response to acute altitude.

Up to 1500m (4921ft) altitude has little effect on the body. Above this level, studies show men the cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic are affected. Unfortunately, few studies on women and children to the altitude and their answers may differ slightly.

RESPONSE OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM altitude

A: increases the respiration rate at rest and during exercise. A smaller number of oxygen molecules per given amount of air means that more ventilation is required to consume the same amount of oxygen at sea level

: Oxygen diffusion decreases B. At sea exchange of oxygen from the lungs to the blood is free and the transportation component of oxygen.