The Effect of Climbing Mount Everest on Spleen Contraction and Increase in Hemoglobin Concentration During Breath Holding and Exercise

Abstract

Release of stored red blood cells resulting from spleen contraction improves human performance in various hypoxic situations. This study determined spleen volume resulting from two contraction-evoking stimuli: breath holding and exercise before and after altitude acclimatization during a Mount Everest ascent (8848 m). Eight climbers performed the following protocol before and after the climb: 5 min ambient air respiration at 1370 m during rest, 20 min oxygen respiration, 20 min ambient air respiration at 1370 m, three maximal-effort breath holds spaced by 2 min, 10 min ambient air respiration, 5 min of cycling at 100 W, and finally 10 min ambient air respiration. We measured spleen volume by ultrasound and capillary hemoglobin (HB) concentration after each exposure, and heart rate (HR) and arterial oxygen saturation (Sao2) continuously. Mean (SD) baseline spleen volume was unchanged at 213 (101) mL before and 206 (52) mL after the climb. Before the climb, spleen volume was reduced to 184 (83) mL after three breath holds, and after the climb three breath holds resulted in a spleen volume of 132 (26) mL (p=0.032). After exercise, the preclimb spleen volume was 186 (89) mL vs. 112 (389) mL) after the climb (p=0.003). Breath hold duration and cardiovascular responses were unchanged after the climb. We concluded that spleen contraction may be enhanced by altitude acclimatization, probably reflecting both the acclimatization to chronic hypoxic exposure and acute hypoxia during physical work.