Introduction: Elevated Heart Rate or Heart Rate at Elevation? A Study on the Effects of Elevation on the Heart Health of BASIS Flagstaff’s Physically Active Teachers.

Eugene j -

Hi everyone! My name is Eugene J, and I’m a senior at BASIS Flagstaff doing a Senior Project.

For my project, I will be analyzing how elevation and different types of workouts impact the heart health of adults. I have always been interested in health and biology, so when I was given the opportunity to do a Senior Project, I had many, many ideas. I chose to focus on heart rate as my central topic due to a multitude of reasons. Heart health is extremely important as Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) has been the leading cause of death worldwide for the past twenty years. Two major predictors of CVD are a person’s VO2 max, the maximum amount of oxygen a person can use while exercising, and resting heart rate. Consistent physical activity can improve these variables. However, elevation also affects them. As Flagstaff is at a high elevation, I was interested if this had an effect on VO2 max and heart rates.

My goal is to gain a better understanding of how Flagstaff’s elevation of 7,000 feet affects physically active inhabitants by using volunteering BASIS teachers who consistently exercise and record their health using a fitness watch as a sample population.

From my initial research, I have gained a better understanding of how elevation impacts VO2 max. However, I also found that there is limited data from specific elevations. According to the American Heart Association, healthy people won’t need to worry about “moderate elevations” of 6,560 feet to 9,840 feet, but this is a wide range that has different health effects.

Flagstaff is at an altitude of 7000ft, on the low end of Moderate Altitude. The effects at Moderate Elevations are mostly extrapolated from results from High Elevations. However, due to being on the lower end of Moderate Altitude, I believe any extrapolation for Flagstaff would be inaccurate. Additionally, because Flagstaff is a newer settlement, the population would be unlikely to have any genetic adaptation to the elevation, so sampling the population would result in data close to whether a person from low elevation was to adapt to the altitude over the years.

I have an internship with BASIS Flagstaff’s Track and Field program. The program coordinator and coach will help me understand the differences in exercise types and how different schedules and intensities impact health.

I will use the data collected from my population’s fitness watches to understand their personal fitness in relation to their unique workouts and how the elevation likely affects them. This method allows me access to a vast amount of data without the need to put these volunteers through any physical exertion they wouldn’t normally do. With this data, I will better understand the effects of different types of physical fitness on health and avoid CVD at elevations around 7,000 feet.

Thank you for reading.

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    Kei Sieben
    Hi Eugene! Your topic is super interesting, I have always wondered about elevation and it's effect on my VO2 max. Will you be focusing on collecting data of VO2 max during exercise, or will you also be doing research on resting heart as well? Will you be monitoring this data through any type of physical exercise that your participants do, or will it be only running exercise? Thanks! - Kei
      eugene_j
      Hey! The main variables I will monitor are heart rate (resting, recovery after exercise, etc.). VO2 Max is also closely connected to heart rate. Sorry for being unclear, but my research population will be the BASIS teachers who exercise however they regularly do.
    mason_t
    Hi Eugene, this project looks like it will be really interesting. You mentioned using a sample of BASIS teachers who exercise consistently as a sample population. Will you be comparing this to populations of similar individuals at lower altitudes to see if exercises have different effects at different elevations? Thanks!
      eugene_j
      Hey Mason! Since I cannot directly collect data from a population at a lower elevation, I will compare it to previous research. Given the likely varied ways that teachers exercise, I will probably use many studies to get information close to each teacher's specific exercise routine, intensity, and schedule. However, the extent to which I will do this will depend on how many teachers I get for my study and how much research there is on each form of exercise.
    samantha_g
    Hi Eugene, can't say I have ever thought about elevation and its effect on a persons VO2 max, but I'm excited to learn more! Do you have any more information on the different health effects that moderate elevations have on people? healthy or not? Thanks!
      eugene_j
      Hey Sam! Most health effects from elevation are directly related to oxygen reduction at higher altitudes. After weeks at a near-sea level elevation, the body naturally starts breathing deeper and increases heart rate upon arrival at higher altitudes (around 6,000ft or 1,600m). After a few weeks, the body begins increasing the amount of hemoglobin in the blood to improve oxygen efficiency, which slightly decreases the heart rate from the initial increase. However, it will still be higher than at lower elevations. There are a lot more specific small physiological changes in the blood and heart anatomy (blood cell mass increase, more mitochondria, and more capillaries - tiny blood vessels in the muscle), but these are largely beyond the scope of my project. This is less related to your question, but at an elevation of 8,000m or 26,000ft, there is physically not enough oxygen for people to survive for more than 16 hours. Mount Everest is at an elevation of 8,850m or 29,000ft
    mae_b
    Hey Eugene, it's so cool that you are looking into something that's so relevant! Heart health is pretty important, so I'm excited to learn more. Do you have any plans to compare VO2 max of the BASIS Flagstaff track team with other BASIS students to learn how high elevation can affect very physically active people versus less physically active people? I would be curious to know how being an athlete affects a person's VO2 max.
      eugene_j
      Hey Mae! I'm sorry for the confusion, but the Flagstaff track team is not my research population. I will clarify why in my next post. My research population is the BASIS teachers who record their health. I still expect different levels and intensities of exercise, so I will be comparing how these differences affect VO2 Max.
    Maleea_M
    Hello Eugene, maintaining physical health is a top priority for me, and I’m excited to see how your findings can help improve daily well-being! Will you be comparing the VO2 max of BASIS teachers to the younger track athletes to explore how elevation affects different age groups?
      eugene_j
      Hey Maleea! Sadly, I cannot analyze the track athletes' health for comparison. I will clarify why in my next post. However, I can use current research on adults and youth at lower elevations to estimate the effects of elevation on the youth compared with the teachers from my project. This, unfortunately, is the best I can do, but I will still do my best to use previous research to get a better understanding.

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