Living at Higher Altitude Helps the Cardiovascular System

I’m lucky, as I’ve lived in beautiful New Mexico at 7,200 feet (2,125m meters) for the last 18 years. We’ve known some elderly friends who’ve been advised by their doctors to move down to sea level because of respiratory conditions (e.g. COPD). But, in general, living at this altitude doesn’t present any health problems. Now it seems there may be distinct advantages in high-altitude living. A report in the journal Circulation describes a Swiss study bringing results along these lines.

The study assessed the effect of altitude on cardiovascular disease – specifically mortality from coronary heart disease and stroke - in relation to the altitude of the place of residence in 1990 and at birth. The study population comprised 1.64 million adults living in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Mortality data were collected from 1990 to 2000. Ages ranged from 40 to 84 in 1990, and altitudes included ranged from 850 feet (259 m) to 6,430 feet (1960 m).

Mortality from coronary disease and stroke significantly decreased with increasing altitude – by 22% for coronary disease and 12% for stroke per 3,300 feet (1,000 m). Being born at higher altitudes was associated with a lower risk, which was partially maintained if they moved to lower levels. People born lower, who moved up later in life, had a slightly smaller improvement in mortality than those born at higher levels.

Possible reasons for this protective effect of high altitude were: beneficial adaptation of the heart to higher altitude, higher levels of physical activity and better eating habits, more exposure to UV light and thus vitamin D synthesis, and less air pollution. The findings of the analysis will doubtless spur further research along these, and other, lines. Meantime, life in the high desert country of New Mexico is just fine.