Debevec, Tadej; Burnik, Stojan; Jereb, Bla? - Dynamic of heart rate under step test loadings as an indicator of altitude acclimatisation

摘要

The human body’s adaptation to the decreased partial pressure of oxygen is called altitude acclimatisation. It is particularly important for alpinists who perform high-intensity workouts at a high altitude. Assessing someone’s level of acclimatisation is a difficult problem. In our study, which was conducted prior to and during an expedition to the Peruvian Andes in South America organised by the Faculty of Sports of the University of Ljubljana, our main goal was to analyse the heart rate (HR) as an indicator for assessing the level of acclimatisation to high altitudes. The experiment consisted of five testing sessions, based on a simple step test, before and during the expedition. Eleven people took part in the experiment, eight of whom were female. The analysis yielded interesting results especially in the change of HR after a prolonged time at higher altitudes. Contrary to other studies, our research showed an increase in HR after the acclimatisation period. We concluded that in future studies, it is very important, especially out in the field, to monitor all the main factors that influence HR. Only in this case can HR become useful for monitoring personal acclimatisation.