Acclimatization to altitude: effects on arterial oxygen saturation and pulse rate during prolonged exercise at altitude.

Changes in the arterial haemoglobin-oxygen saturation (SaO2) of the blood, in the blood pressure and in the heart rate, were monitored in subjects performing static exercise at an altitude of 3,600 metres before and after an acclimatization period of 28 days during an expedition to the Bolivian Andes. It was found that acclimatised subjects could maintain their SaO2 during prolonged exercise better than non-acclimatised subjects. The pulse rate of acclimatised subjects was consistently lower at the same work level than that of non-acclimatised subjects. Acclimatised subjects were able to reach higher levels of exercise than when they had first arrived at altitude. These data imply that acclimatization to altitude improves the delivery of oxygen to the tissues. The mechanism of this is not certain, but it may be concerned with a reduction in the degree of ventilation-perfusion inequality of the lung which occurs on exposure to high altitude.