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Danger at Elevation from High Altitude Pulmonary Edema

A mountaineer ascends a slope.

  Mountaineering does not come without a certain risk. The obvious dangers of physical injury come to mind when planning an expedition, but hidden physiological factors can also prove fatal. One of these conditions is Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), which stems from a failure to properly acclimatize to a higher elevation, and can lead to a more fatal illness known […]

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Alex Mangels | February 1, 2021
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HAPE – Understanding the Most Serious Form Of Altitude Sickness

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With several US and European ski resorts reaching altitudes above 10,000 feet, altitude sickness is not an unknown factor to the readers here at Snowbrains. It is, however, less commonly known that a serious form of altitude sickness, known as High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema, can strike even at moderate high-altitudes from about 8,000 feet (or 2,440m) and does not just afflict […]

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Julia Schneemann | February 1, 2021
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Breathing: The Key To Good Performance

Breathing provides the body and mind the oxygen it needs to function. We can live for some days without water and several weeks without food, but only a few minutes without oxygen. And even so, how often do you pay attention to your breathing. Breathing is the priority and vital function for the survival of every living being, and also […]

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Sebastian Opazo | July 20, 2020
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Green Glow Spotted In The Atmosphere Of Mars

[arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzbWfBuOZHo"]
Sebastian Opazo | June 26, 2020
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Brain Post: Scientists Discover First Living Creature Without the Need to Breathe

The most vital resource for any creature’s survival is oxygen. However, scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery supporting evidence that not all living beings need oxygen to exist. The microscopic salmon parasite, known as the Henneguya Salminicola, is the only known animal that does not require aerobic respiration. Containing no mitochondrial genome, the species cannot, even if it wanted to, breathe […]

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Emily Crofton | February 28, 2020
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High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema: The Invisible Killer

Use of supplemental oxygen

While there are many risks associated with being at altitude such as hypothermia or dehydration, High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) is the most deadly. Pulmonary Edema is fluid in the lungs and, as the name suggests, HAPE is fluid in the lungs due to prolonged time at high elevations. Typically, HAPE tends to occur in people that are above 8,000 ft, […]

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Alex Camerino | February 1, 2020
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Acute Mountain Sickness | Know The Effects And Risks That Altitude Can Have In Your Body.

The view from the summit of Gokyo Ri, in the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalayas.

A Polish woman went unconscious and then passed away last month in the middle of a mountaineering expedition in Manaslu, Nepal. Earlier this year, many climbers attempting to summit Mount Everest lost consciousness and perished on the way to the top. Similar situations happen every year in mountains all around the world. The reason? High Altitude Sickness or Acute Mountain […]

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Micho | July 17, 2019
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HAPE: The Silent Killer at Ten Thousand Feet

HAPE is one of the greatest dangers when mountain climbing.

High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is an extremely dangerous form of altitude sickness that can often have fatal consequences. As opposed to acute mountain sickness and high altitude cerebral edema, which are caused by a decrease in oxygen concentration and brain swelling, HAPE is caused by an increase in pulmonary pressure during a significant ascent. While some of their symptoms overlap, […]

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Lucy Ferneyhough | November 1, 2018
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HAPE: The Leading Killer at High Altitudes

High Alpine Mountaineering

Reports often come out about people passing away in the mountains due to altitude sickness.  Altitude sickness, otherwise known as acute mountain sickness (AMS), is when you feel like you came down with the flu or have a hangover, due to less oxygen being at higher elevations.  However, altitude sickness does not cause death, but it can lead to more […]

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Mitch McDermott | October 1, 2017
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HAPE: What Every Mountaineer Strives to Avoid

High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE): a high altitude killer and a mountaineer’s worst nightmare. A build-up of fluid in the lungs from the extreme lack of oxygen at higher elevations can be deadly. This condition is never a surprise, in fact before HAPE occurs people usually get a condition called Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). This is the mildest form of […]

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Joseph Phillips | July 18, 2017
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Brain Post: Why Do We Breathe?

This question is simple, so you’d naturally expect a simple answer.  Sorry.  But we’ll break it down to the simplest terms possible. WHY DO WE BREATHE? THE SHORT ANSWER: – We breathe to get oxygen to our cells so that they can make energy. THE MEDIUM ANSWER – We breathe to get oxygen to our cells so that they can […]

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Avatar photo SnowBrains | November 23, 2016
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