When I arrived at Lamy, NM, I was out of breath going the short distance to the van that was to transport me to the hotel.
Yesterday, I was so winded moving my bags from the lobby of
the hotel to my room. It reminded me of
my condition prior to my heart valve replacement.
I know I’m overweight (it’s the pandemic 75 instead of 10 lbs. for me), but I do exercise each day for 30 minutes on a sitting elliptical
device. I was afraid something was
wrong!
Well, I realized what it is today. It’s the elevation. The City of Santa Fe itself sits at 7,198 ft. above sea level. It is the highest
capital city and third highest city in America.
West Columbia, where I live, sits at an elevation of 285 ft. above sea
level.
According to Wikipedia… "The effects of high altitude on
humans are considerable. The oxygen saturation of hemoglobin determines the
content of oxygen in blood. After the human body reaches around 2,100 meters
(6,900 ft.) above sea level, the saturation of oxyhemoglobin begins to decrease
rapidly. However, the human body has both short-term and long-term
adaptations to altitude that allow it to partially compensate for the lack of
oxygen." The body compensates by the “huffing
and puffing” to get more oxygen into our bloodstream.
There are three levels that impact the human physical condition:
·
High altitude = 4,900–11,500 ft. (Santa Fe =
7198 ft.)
·
Very high altitude = 11,500–18,000 ft.
·
Extreme altitude =18,000 ft.
My suspicions were confirmed this morning from my instructor
doing my one-on-one photography class. After
the session I’m doing what’s best to prevent sickness, “The best way to prevent
altitude sickness is to go slow — called acclimatization. This process allows
your body time to adjust to the change in oxygen levels.” With my age I plan to go slow!
I wish I had some of the cocoa leaf tea, but it's only legal to drink in certain South American countries (and restricted in the USA).
