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High Altitude Living – 8,000 ft and above (2021)

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Re: High Altitude Living – 8,000 ft and above (2021)

#3
I wonder if they're confusing the cause and effect.

Do people who live above 8k feet not die of heart disease or do people with heart disease find it too difficult to live above 8k feet so only people without heart disease live above 8k feet?

I live at 7200 feet and I know several people who have moved to lower altitudes because it's "too hard to breath" here.

Re: High Altitude Living – 8,000 ft and above (2021)

#4
> The best defense is to start at 5,000 feet and stay there for 3 days, drinking water like crazy and resting. Then, come up to the higher elevation and give yourself a day or two to adjust. That usually works.

This is crazy to me as I usually only get 1 acclimation night in before going up. I’m curious how people can find their limits / needs?

Re: High Altitude Living – 8,000 ft and above (2021)

#8
post #3

I wonder if they're confusing the cause and effect. Do people who live above 8k feet not die of heart disease or do people with heart disease find it too difficult to live above 8k feet so only people without heart disease live above 8k feet? I live at 7200 feet and I know several people who have moved to lower altitudes because it's "too hard to breath" here.

I visited Mexico City a couple weeks ago and it is at 7200 feet. As I got off the plane I was gasping a bit and I woke up 3 or 4 times the first night gasping for air. I didn't have any problems visiting Denver at 5000 feet in years past but I was absolutely feeling it at 7200. I didn't stay long enough to see if I would acclimate as I continued to feel bad and returned home early.

Re: High Altitude Living – 8,000 ft and above (2021)

#9
I lived at 10,600 feet for 6.5 weeks last summer, coming from essentially sea level.

I felt like I was adjusted 90% adjusted about 2 weeks in, like I could walk at a normal speed. My Garmin watch agreed with this adaption. However, trying to mountain bike with the locals was hilarious... even at week 6 I barely started to be able to keep up on climbs. I rode my mountain bike nearly every day, or at minimum took a several mile hike

Near the end I had a bender with some coworkers. I started developing a persistent "altitude" cough after that that never really went away until I got back down to sea level. The cough disappeared in 36 hours. And wow, did I feel like superman when I got back racing my peers.

Did you catch the important point in my story though? I live an active life style at sea level, but man, people living in small towns in the mountains _love_ the outdoors. We were active every day of the week: riding, hiking, climbing, etc. I could definitely see how altitude helps with cardiovascular health, but it's already been proven that leading an active lifestyle is one of the most amazing things you can do for your health and happiness.

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