So you want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Will your heart hold up?Doctors are hearing variations of this question more frequently as people (including those with previous heart problems) make travel plans that involve altitude. Giving an accurate answer depends on elevation, rate of ascent and acclimitazation and exercise intensity--along with a patient's age, genetics and physical conditioning.
Altitude travel can tax the cardiopulmonary system, with significant changes typically beginning at about 8,200 feet, say researchers writing for the American Heart Journal. The heart has to work harder, in an environment of reduced oxygen, with the body releasing more epinephrine and an increased pulmonary artery pressure.
The researchers are from Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital and Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. They recommend:
* Limiting your workload or exercise time to about 80 to 90 percent of what you can do comfortably at sea level.
* Raising your sleeping altitude gradually, especially if a prolonged trek is planned.
* A moderate degree of physical conditioning at sea level before exercise at altitude.
* Alcohol consumption should be minimized and proper hydration should be maintained to keep blood viscosity and volume within normal parameters.
They say doctors should consider an exercise treadmill test for any men or women over age 40. They say people with recent unstable cadiovascular conditions should refrain from high altitudes, but people who exercise at sea level without symptoms can make plans for a trip at altitude "as long as they are vigilant regarding their heart rate and blood pressure and they decrease the total intensity and duration of their exercise (at altitude.)"
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