Mountain Air And CVD

There are many with CVD who are familiar with the benefits of mountain air and experiencing nature when it comes to heart disease. However, others also know the dangers of traveling at high altitudes with a cardiac condition. Personally, I know both. I traveled to the mountains often after the age of 7. Yet, a strange, although not overly surprising, phenomenon has happened to me when traveling at high altitudes these past few years. A certain, fatigued breathlessness, a sign of altitude-induced weakness often found in those with CVD.

As someone from Colorado, USA, I was born at a high altitude, as Denver, Colorado, is called the “Mile High” city for a reason. Growing up, I went up to the mountains when my health permitted it. But that is the key factor… when my health permitted it.

It could be said that the condition of one’s cardiac health could be determined by how well they manage high altitudes. This, in my experience, was due to my heart and the asthma, which was a consequence of the cardiac problems, physically being unable to handle the thin air at such heights. That was why I could not venture up to the mountains until I was 7 years old. That year, I went to an elevation of 14’000 feet! It was only thanks to the heart surgery I had that year and the reconstruction of the organ via mechanical heart valves that made such a feat possible.

However, as the years go by, I am noticing the thinness of the air again. Strangely, the oxygen levels on my Pulseox are fine, but the pressure of the altitude leaves my limbs heavy and my breath wheezing to the point that even walking up stairs is exhausting, much less a simple walk down a relatively even trail.

Perhaps it is a natural consequence of age, even in one’s thirties, or, more likely, this is caused by a natural consequence of being at such an age with a congenital cardiac problem. I do not know for sure why I have trouble breathing in the mountains, but I do know that if it is not an asthma-related problem, then it is likely a cardiac-related problem.

Therefore, for the sake of my heart, until it is resolved for whatever reason, be it surgically, psychologically, or holistically, I will experience the majesty of the mountains from a lower altitude.

Does anyone else avoid the mountains due to cardiac concerns? Or do they travel directly to them for their health benefits? Who can relate?

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