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Physiology of high-altitude acclimatization

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Abstract

Travel to high altitude exposes the human body to a variety of stresses, the most prominent being reduced available oxygen with increase in altitude due to reduced partial pressure of oxygen. Several physiological responses are initiated in the human body to promote faster acclimatization to these adverse environmental conditions. These physiological and molecular readjustments encompassing acclimatization, namely, hypoxic ventilatory response, diuresis, increased cardiac output, improved oxygen carrying capacity and cerebral blood flow, Hypoxia inducible factor 1 stabilization, etc., converge to a single outcome, ensuring optimal bioavailability of oxygen. In this article, we describe the basic acclimatization framework mentioned above.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Biology Division Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence, Lucknow Road, Timarpur Delhi, 110054, India

    Sonam Chawla & Shweta Saxena

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  1. Sonam Chawla
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  2. Shweta Saxena
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Correspondence to Shweta Saxena.

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Sonam Chawla is an MTech in Biotechnology. Currently she is pursuing her doctoral studies in Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, Delhi as a CSIR Research Fellow.

Shweta Saxena is a research scientist at Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, Delhi. She is involved in designing pharmacological strategies for rapid acclimatization to high altitude with an aim to improve performance of Indian soldiers during high-altitude deputations.

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Chawla, S., Saxena, S. Physiology of high-altitude acclimatization. Reson 19, 538–548 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-014-0057-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-014-0057-3

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