High Altitude Effects on Your Heart and Body High Altitude Physical Exertion and Bad Sleeping Taxes the Heart and Mind: I have the typical tangle of late-age health problems and the emergence of Post Polio Syndrome. I sure am not complaining, because I enjoyed a magnificent sixty five years since my toddler polio hospitalization. The upshot is that I studied my problems to solve them. I can now offer you the information I collected to solve my problems as data proof for meeting high country hunting health challenges. Below are three tests of sleeping conditions during altitude acclimation. The graphs are of blood oxygen saturations levels and the stress on the heart as evidenced by heart pulse rates. The measurements were made using a pulse fingertip oximeter, which continually recorded data over the night. A computer program analyzes the data and calculates the variations and abnormal, out-of-bounds events. These events are: when blood oxygen drops at least 4% for a minimum of ten seconds; when the heartbeat rate changes 6 beats per minute for a minimum of 8 seconds. Now let us review the data. The dotted red line on the oxygen levels is the minimum 88% oxygen saturation level which a healthy sleeper should have at Denver's mile high elevation. Keep in mind this pertains to someone who lives in Denver and has acclimated to its mile high altitude. Acclimation of someone from sea level takes from two weeks to months, depending on the individual's age, health, breathing abilities (smoking emphysema, chest congestion) and physical conditions such as overweight, poor vascular circulation, and diaphragm/chest intercostal muscle tone limitations. GRAPH 1 This data set was recorded on a typical night at my home at 6,000 feet west of Denver. Here I use of a CPAP because I have sleep apnea. Notice that I maintained blood oxygen levels above 88% except for one time. Look at the three black tick marks above the blue line. These are times when I was above 88%, but my oxygen level varied by 4%. My blood oxygen concentration was almost perfectly normal. The good oxygen levels allowed my physical body and most importantly my mind to refresh itself. A constant good oxygen level allows deep REM sleep and allows the brain/mind to rejuvenate Study the green heart beat graph. Note how the heartbeat shows very little variation and how it gradually decreases over the night and became even more stable. These data indicate I had a good night's sleep with little stress on the heart. The deep sleep and low, non-erratic heartbeat indicate the heart muscles and electrical synodes are not being stressed. ​GRAPH 2 I took the oximeter to my 9,800 archery deer hunting mountain camp. I drove to the location five hours before I began the sleep test. Note that most of the night I did not get enough oxygen. The oxygen saturation levels continually varied. Not until 5 AM did my breathing become regulated enough to allow a stable (but low) oxygen level. This permitted the heart to also stabilize and I got about one hour of good sleep and heart relaxation. Note the tick marks have proliferated from one to 344 oxygen desaturation events. Graph 3 My elk camp is at 10,840 feet. I used to back pack into the area. At 70, I started to use outfitter Sherpa Service to get my camp in and sometimes even ride a horse, which means I arrive at camp relatively well rested. I arrive at camp three days before opening morning to acclimate. The test under the same conditions began eleven hours after I arrived at camp and acclimation had begun. Note how going from 6,000 feet to 10,840 feet (an added 1,000-foot elevation gain above deer camp) has affected my blood oxygen levels. The blood saturations are extremely variable and all are below the minimum target 88%. Compare the heart beat graph with the home graph #1. It is obvious that the heart is staining to meet the pumping required to meet acceptable sleeping oxygen demands. Look at the pulse rate scale. The at-rest, prone position heart beat thumps along at 80-70 BPM at 9 PM and does not drop to 60 BPM until 1:30 AM. Then it continues at about 50 BPM for most of the night, when at home the beat leveld in the mid 40’s. This is stressful to the heart. Oxygen Drop Event Histograms: At elk camp there were 565 times my blood oxygen level varies more than 4% for a minimum of 8 seconds. Sometimes my blood oxygen saturation was only 70-75%. My heart's sinus node was continually sending signals to pump more, pump less, pump more. That is heart stress. You can observe that physiological adjustment to high