Tags: altitude | high | exposure | simulation | hemoglobin | surgery | preparation

High Altitude Exposure Could Prepare You for Surgery

surgeons in operating room
(Adobe Stock)

Monday, 04 December 2023 02:06 PM EST

Surgery coming up? Mimicking the high-altitude breathing of mountaineers might make your procedure safer, a tiny study suggests.

It's a form of what surgeons call "prehabilitation:" Making a patient's body a bit fitter beforehand to withstand the risks and rigors of surgery.

Investigators found that exposing patients to reduced oxygen levels ("hypoxia") for a week spurred a rise in blood hemoglobin. The British researchers believe that could help prevent complications around surgery.

“We know that athletes can use hypoxic canopies over their bed to simulate altitude exposure and that altitude can induce performance benefits after two to three weeks even in people who are extremely fit," noted study lead author Dr. Thomas Smith, an anesthetist at King’s College London.

"We were interested in whether this approach could also benefit older patients ahead of major surgery, who due to sedentary lifestyles and low levels of fitness, are more at risk of negative postoperative outcomes," he said in a college news release.

To test this theory, Smith's group first selected eight volunteers, averaging 64 years of age, who had sedentary "couch potato" lifestyles.

All were sent to live for two weeks at a special "hypoxic house" in Ireland, where room oxygen levels are tightly controlled.

During one week of the study, the eight volunteers breathed normal air, but in a second week they breathed air that had oxygen levels equivalent to flying at an altitude of 8,000 feet.

Special cardiopulmonary tests showed no overall improvement in aerobic fitness after breathing the low-oxygen air, but there was a spike in blood hemoglobin, the team reported.

Hemoglobin carries oxygen throughout the body, enabling it to perform better under stress.

Although more study is needed, "simulated altitude exposure may have potential advantages for older and sedentary patients" ahead of a surgery, Smith reasoned.

For example, patients might sleep at night for a few weeks in small "hypoxic canopy" tents that could be provided to patients, he explained.

The study was published recently in the journal Anaesthesia.

© HealthDay


Health-News
Surgery coming up? Mimicking the high-altitude breathing of mountaineers might make your procedure safer, a tiny study suggests. It's a form of what surgeons call "prehabilitation:" Making a patient's body a bit fitter beforehand to withstand the risks and rigors of...
altitude, high, exposure, simulation, hemoglobin, surgery, preparation
333
2023-06-04
Monday, 04 December 2023 02:06 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
Find Your Condition
Newsmax2 Live
 
On Now:1:00p ET • Newsmax News In-Depth
Coming Up:1:30p ET • Conversations With Nancy Brinker
Get Newsmax Text Alerts

The information presented on this website is not intended as specific medical advice and is not a substitute for professional medical treatment or diagnosis. Read Newsmax Terms and Conditions of Service.

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
NEWSMAX.COM
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved