{"id":45,"date":"2020-01-30T14:44:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T18:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/isabel-snee\/?page_id=45"},"modified":"2020-02-14T18:21:17","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T22:21:17","slug":"life-at-the-top","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/isabel-snee\/life-at-the-top\/","title":{"rendered":"Life at the Top"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong>\u00a0 This section describes ways individuals overcome the dangers of high altitudes without aid. \u00a0With continued attraction to mountains, many generations have traversed its rough terrain, developed mountain sickness, and discovered ways to alleviate it. \u00a0Regardless, evidence has shown humans were never meant to permanently reside in the slopes.<\/p>\n

Mountain Sickness\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mountain sickness arises from reduced oxygen concentration, cold temperatures, dehydration, intense radiation, and high winds. \u00a0Without oxygen to supply cells’ demands, climbers experience intense exhaustion. \"\"\u00a0To curb this effect, climbers must introduce their bodies the higher altitudes gradually, a concept balloonists failed to grasp (they experienced euphoria and soon impaired judgment and death). \u00a0Despite this gradualism or the assistance of supplementary oxygen, numerous hikers have surpassed this proposed limitation and lived to tell the tale.<\/p>\n

Acute Mountain Sickness<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201c\u2019We crumple to our knees, clutching our axes\u2026Every ten or fifteen steps we collapse into the snow to rest, then crawl again.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While its begins with a euphoric light-headedness, mountain sickness transforms into difficulty sleeping, severe headaches, loss of appetite, and nausea.\u00a0 While causes remain unclear, low blood oxygen concentration and acidity are likely to blame.\u00a0 Physiologically, small air sacs called alveoli branch off from lung pipes and engage with local blood vessels for oxygen exchange.\u00a0 With decreased oxygen in the alveoli from higher altitudes, blood vessels constrict and abandon those alveoli, causing large jumps in\u00a0pulmonary blood pressure. \u00a0Leaked fluid accumulates within or near the air sacs, interfering with the gas exchange and causing labored breathing.<\/p>\n

Into Thin Air<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why does breathing pose a problem?\u00a0 <\/strong>From an evolutionary perspective, only recently have humans decided to enter high altitudes.\u00a0 Sea-level supplies of oxygen have left humans unprepared.\u00a0\u00a0 Since the rate of breathing largely affects carbon dioxide concentration, human respiratory rate matches bodily carbon dioxide concentration.\u00a0 At high altitudes, a chemical response that prompts the body to increase respiration rates to combat the reduced oxygen.\u00a0 Hyperventilation improves oxygen uptake and exhales more carbon dioxide, reducing its presence in the alveoli and blood.\u00a0 As a result, humans may hold their breath longer than before.<\/p>\n

Acclimatization<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reaching new heights requires a second round of hyperventilation to further alleviate problems with reduced blood carbon dioxide and acidity. \"\"Acclimatization sensitizes the body to lower oxygen levels and replenishes blood acidity, helping some climb extraordinary heights.\u00a0 Along with this adaptation a protein develops more red blood cells levels, which carry oxygen around the body, but at the cost of more viscous blood.<\/p>\n

Native Advantages<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those living at higher altitudes maintain a larger lung to body ratio due to their larger lungs and shorter, barrel-chested stature.\u00a0With larger hearts to pump blood and increased capillaries in tissues for more efficient gas exchange, these populations have adapted to adverse conditions.\u00a0 In fact, in areas where acute mountain sickness affects newcomers, inhabitants conduct and run marathons.<\/p>\n

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Summary:\u00a0 This section describes ways individuals overcome the dangers of high altitudes without aid. \u00a0With continued attraction to mountains, many generations have traversed its rough terrain, developed mountain sickness, and discovered ways to alleviate it. \u00a0Regardless, evidence has shown humans were never meant to permanently reside in the slopes. Mountain Sickness\u00a0 Mountain sickness arises from … <\/p>\n

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