Effects of Altitudeon the Human Body byRick NewmanWhile the effects of altitude on the human body are better

understood now than even a few short yearsago, much is still unknown. Doing research on altitude issues is difficult; there are no easy methods of controlling experiments in order to gather reliable data, and exposure to high altitude usually alsoincludes exposure to cold, heat, exercise, and dehydration. Further confusing the issue is that eachindividual may respond differently than his companions and differently than he did in the past. Still,some effects are well documented. Hypoxia As you climb higher, there is (effectively) less oxygen in the air to breathe. As your blood oxygen levelsdecrease, your body will signal the brain to increase ventilation, or your breathing rate. This is called thehypoxic ventilator response (HVR). This increasesoxygen levels (which is good) but also causes toomuch carbon dioxide to be exhaled (which isbad). Hypoxia (a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching body tissues) creates a conflictin the body. Either oxygen levels are too low(due to hypoventilation), or carbon dioxide levelsare too low (due to hyperventilation). Since thelow oxygen will win this battle, carbon dioxidelevels will be low, increasing blood pH anddisrupting normal body function. Normally, thiswould be corrected quickly, but at altitude thisprocess is slow and normal pH may not bereached for several weeks. Acclimatization Up to 25,000 (above which they call the death zone), the human body will adapt to altitude. Thisprocess is acclimatization. One of the first changes is an increase in the heart rate (which returns tonormal after a few days at altitude). Ventilation (both the rate and depth of breathing) will alsoincrease, and continue to increase slowly for about a week before leveling off. Within a couple of hoursat altitude, the body will begin to produce more hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying red blood cells. Redblood cells take about a week to form and mature. How do you know when you are acclimatized?Normal sleep, a normal appetite, and a normal heart rate have all been used as signs thatacclimatization is adequate