Adaptation to High Altitude: Respiratory Response to CO2 and O2

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Abstract
After a residence of 5-6 days on Mt. Evans, Colorado, at an altitude of 14,100 ft., CO2 breathing and breath-holding tests with O2 were compared with those obtained 2 wks. previously at Rochester, New York (altitude 550 ft.). All the subjects demonstrated an increased sensitivity to CO2 after adaptation to altitude. Breath-holding studies were also carried out after breathing various O2-N2 gas mixtures. Under these conditions of acute respiratory acidosis a definite O2 threshold cannot be established. With adaptation to altitude this lack of a definite threshold persists. The analysis of these breath-holding tests suggests that no change in sensitivity of the respiratory system to O2 has taken place.

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