Today is my first day in Bogota, Colombia. Elevation of 2.6km. I don’t have altitude sickness like some, but I’m very short on breath after even minor exertion (walking one flight of stairs).
I know this goes away after 1 – 3 days, but what is actually happening in a person’s body to adapt so quickly?
In: 21
Having high hematocrit (as red blood cell concentration is called) increases blood viscosity. This elevates risk of clotting (mainly in the small arterioles and venules) and requires higher cardiac output to deliver the same flow/time.
Since oxygen delivery to periferal tissue is dependent on blood oxygen content (positively correlated with hematocrit) and volume per time unit (negatively correlated with hematocrit), there is an optimum hematocrit. This optimum changes with partial oxygen pressure in the lung alveoli.
TLDR: the blood gets ‘thicker’ which is a disadvantage
Edit: this was a reply on the question why we dont always make more red blood cells
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