Question about high altitudes and breathing

[jellis86]

Quite simply, if a persons breathing is at all compromised at lower altitudes, then wouldn't higher altitudes make it worse?

We were recently vacationing in the Rocky Mountains. Spent two days in Bozeman, MT (4,820 feet) and another two days in Colorado Springs (6,035 feet). We also traveled Yellowstone extensively with altitudes exceeding well over a mile and also went to Leadville, Co (10,152 feet).

The last FVC test I had showed 60%, although I believe that particular time that the test was not accurate for a variety of reasons. But regardless, my breathing is considered somewhat compromised.

While in the mountain areas I had absolutely no issues with breathing, that is they were the same as when I am home. On the other hand my wife hated higher elevations and couldn't wait to be back down to a normal air level. She barely slept and was short of breath often.

Has anuone experienced breathing difficulties at higher elevations? Or doesn't elevation matter as much as one might think?

 

[BrianD]

Usually yes, but it depends on each person. ALS and higher altitude compromise breathing in different ways.

ALS affects the amount of volume of air a person gets. Higher altitude lowers the amount of oxygen percentage/density in the air. Here in Colorado Springs there is about 20% less oxygen than at sea level.

But each person is different as to when they feel the effects of lower blood oxygen level. You might be fairly used to your -40% from FVC level and were not as sensitive to the next -20% from the altitude as your wife.

 

[Nighthawk]

@jellis86:

Brian is right. At more altitude the amount of O2 in air decreases and its availability for the blood cells of your body which transport O2 to the brain and other organs falls.

By the way, are you on Bi-PAP? If you aren't, then you should be because a 60% FVC means that your breathing is slowly starting to compromise.

Take care.

 

[jellis86]

My FVC changed within a week from 70% to 60% back in March. I have not been tested since. However, I believe the latest test flawed for a variety of reasons, the least of which is time of day.

The day after my reading of 70% they also did an arterial blood gas draw and everything was within nominal limits.

The 60% reading surprised my speech therapist who tells me that it must have been a bad test. He had me cough and says that is still very strong, plus I am not short of breath nor do I ever get headaches from too much CO2.

While on vacation to Yellowstone, we walked well over a mile and I was never out of breath...my wife on the other hand hated the altitude and stopped a few times to catch her breath.

I am on a bipap for use at night, however I don't need it to sleep, settings are 10/5. The placed me on a bipap because I had used a cpap for years due to sleep apnea.

There is no doubt that my breathing is affected. After mowing the lawn or spading/hoeing the garden, I am somewhat out of breath, but barely more than I was a year ago.
My main question was, if breathing tests show me at 60% FVC, wouldn't that have affected me at high altitudes, especially while walking distances, etc. I have no way of knowing if the latest test was actually flawed, but doesn't a low FVC make a person short of breath? Or what is the result of a low FVC?

I have another pulmonary test on the 29th of July. So I'll see if there has been another drop or a rise in my FVC.

 

[Uptown]

With compromised muscles such as under the ribs and the diaphragm breathing can be affected by the density of the air. The thinner air, although containing less oxygen, exerts less inward pressure on the chest making breathing easier. Also, standing vs supine position allows the diaphragm to drop with minimal muscle activity which then helps breathing. If you were laying in your back you probably would not breathe easier at any altitude. It took 24 hours of sleep lab to show the effects of sudden drops in barometric pressure and increased humidity on breathing. FVC laying down dropped to 19 but was 70 standing. Laying down with stable barometric pressure and low relative humidity produced similar results as standing. It is unclear if the sensory side of the vagus nerve is impacted by these changes or purely motor neuron related.

 

[old dog]

The accuracy of FVC testing for those of us who cannot make a tight seal on the tube to blow into for a spirometer test has been discussed previously. A CALS whose PALS wasn't able to blow into the tube was given a SNIP test which was supposed to give a more accurate reading in his case. I don't know what a SNIP test entails.

I can't pass the hand-held spirometer test. I went to an overnight sleep clinic which showed that my oxygen levels did not drop during the night. The clothespin-on-the-finger device shows my blood oxygen level at 95-97%. My standard reply to the "Are you short of breath?" question is that I can't go fast enough to find out. I do sometimes feel short of breath when stressed.