high elevations travel ?

[lovejoy]

Hi all,
I have what may seem like an ignorant question, but nonetheless, I am going to ask. Husband and I are planning vacation to highest elevations to Colarado next month, so ordered maps and tourbooks from aaa, and while reading came across article that said if you have heart condition, consult physician before traveling to high elevations. Anyone have experience with this? I live in the Ozarks and know that if I lived in high elevatons would be no problem, but am concerned. Will call Dr. later I guess.

 

[tobagotwo]

I traveled through the mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina shortly before I had my surgery, and had several occasions where I had difficulty getting enough oxygen, and actually felt wobbly and exhausted. The problem went away immediately and completely when I got down closer to sea level in North Carolina.

However, I have not had that problem since the valve replacement.

Best wishes,

 

[William]

That's a good question, and I don't really have an answer. I'll take a guess and say it probably has to do with going too high, too fast. I use to do a lot of very high altitude trips before my OHS and my cardio doc has never said anything that would stop me from doing that again, besides just waiting for the body to recover from the replacement. Being in some ultra remote location far away from medical help is a concern too. Will

 

[tommy]

I hiked to the top of Pikes Peak last year. 14,000+ feet no problems. I have a mech St Jude and Coumadin. Your profile says that you take Toprol. Is that for high BP? Check with your doctor about that.

I've heard that airline travel has air pressure about equivalent to 10,000 feet elevation.

 

[Marguerite53]

I'll be in colorado soon too

I'll be in colorado soon too

I have also wondered about that since reading an article posted here (?) about air travel and oxygen deprivation for heart patients. I questioned my GP who brought out a little gizmo and snapped it on my index finger. It reads the level of oxygen in your blood. I was at 100% so she said I would have no trouble at all with flying or with higher elevations. For peace of mind, perhaps you could stop by your doctor's office and have your oxygen level read, simpler than blood pressure read.

Marguerite

 

[csutherland]

Hi! Fellow Ozarkian!

I think I asked the same question a couple of years ago when we were planning our trip to Colo. Jerry's heart surgery was about 1 1/2 yrs before that. The consensus was that it should be OK, but I did call the cardio and their office gave the OK as well. I myself have had some SOB in the mountains and I have no known heart conditions, but Jerry made it fine each time. Several years ago he did get altitute sickness, but it was unrelated to the heart.

Enjoy the Rockies for me!

 

[lovejoy]

Thanks to all for the info and encouragement. I plan on having a wonderful time. Have 4 dogs, leaving 2 with Mom and taking 2. Should be a fun time.
You ever get down Branson way, give me a yell.

 

[twinmaker]

We took a family ski vacation to Breckinridge, Colorado about three and a half years ago. I had had my mechanical valve for years but at the time was having problems with atrial fibrillation. I skiied for one full day and that was it. Started having problems with the atrial fib the next day. I was seen in the ER of the Breckinridge clinic where they monitored me for about 6 hours and then they wanted to send me by ambulance to Vail to be hospitalized. I talked them out of that. They just made me come back into the clinic once a day for the rest of the trip to be checked. My cardio at home said that the higher elevation probably didn't help my situation any because of the decreased oxygen supply when you have A-fib anywhere but he couldn't say whether or not the A-fib happened there because of the higher altitude. I was in Vail a few weeks before my second OHS and I had trouble breathing but I had been out of breath anyway for months before the surgery. Just check with your cardiologist and see what he says.

 

[JimL]

First, to echo others, I've had no problem at high altitudes since surgery.

Second, I didn't see anyone mention the need for increased water intake when you go up into the dry altitudes.

Some people do have problems, so be aware, and come down if you need to.

 

[tommy]

Good point, Jim. Thinner air tends to be drier air. Drink more water at higher elevations (and on airplanes).

 

[Georgia]

I stayed at 8500 ft. last fall; walked @ 3 - 4 miles every day (up and down hill). It was warm, so I was careful to hydrate. It took my valve about 1/2 hour to catch up with me - after walking that long I didn't have any trouble breathing - quite a difference from the previous visit, which was 3 months before surgery.

If you notice that you outpace your valve when you first start exercising, you'll have a bit more of this effect at altitude. Just pace yourself and stop when you feel you need to catch your breath.

Have a great time.

 

[tobagotwo]

Twinmaker, there may have been two environmental agents acting on you during your ski trip. Not only a decrease in oxygen, but the coldness of the air is known to cause rapid changes in the vascular system, and is sometimes blamed for the onset of cardiac events.

Of course, skiing is a lot of work as well as fun. So that goes on top of all the rest. Three cheers for you for not letting them dump you in the "just to be sure" ward. Having confidence in your understanding of how your own body works can save a lot of misery and disappointment.

Best wishes,

 

[Cris N]

We used to go skiing in Colorado and found that if we spent the night in Denver and headed for the higher elevations later the next day we could breathe a lot easier. Spending some time in the lower elevation gave us a bit of time to get acclimated.

I think the main reason for the warning has to do with oxygen. By now, though, you've probably learned to listen to your body... hard breathing, slow down. Muscles on fire, stop & breathe!

And yes, drink lots of water - and have fun! Wish I could go too!

Cris

 

[Rebecca]

Last summer I was at the top of the world on Mauna Kea HI (13,796 feet above sea level)
I did get an ok from my doctor to go and was told not to do any hiking. We had to stop at the visitor center half way up for a few hours before the ranger would let us drive to the top. Mauna Kea has the world?s largest telescopes. One young girl passed out at the top and was given oxygen for about ten minutes before she was driven back down the mountain. Another young athletic man lied down for about 5 minutes but refuses oxygen and was ok. My families did a hike while sat and watch. I still have not had surgery but I am on bp medicine.