I was watching an old Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day. At one point in the movie, Mr. Murray is trying to impress a young lady by saying that he believes we should all live in the country at high altitudes. It got me to think about what would happen if one of my patients with lung disease decided to take this advice.
Short term exposure to high altitude for a COPD patient could be uncomfortable. The oxygen level of the air is lower at high altitudes, and I have had any number of patients tell me they were very uncomfortable walking and moving when visiting Pike’s Peak or taking a trip to the Rockies but what would happen if they still decided to live there.
The effect of chronic altitude exposure on chronic obstructive lung disease has now been looked at in an ongoing study of chronic lung disease patients that
actually live about 4,000 feet. Here is the good news.
Long term altitude exposure, while being associated with reduced functional exercise capacity in patients with COPD, did not translate into changes in symptoms or overall health status. Long term high-altitude exposure did not affect progression of disease as measured by follow up pulmonary function studies.
If you have COPD, I still recommend that you rethink a move to the top of a mountain. Stay home and watch the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day. It is a movie classic and is easily enjoyed at sea level.
