The Institute of Sport Exercise and Health (ISEH) has featured in a BBC documentary looking at the ability of blood to adapt and keep us alive.
The Wonderful World of Blood saw presenter Dr Michael Mosley examining blood and its role in the human body; Dr Mosley visited ISEH to find out how blood is affected at altitude.
Dr Mosely was put through a series of tests which the Xtreme Everest team have undertaken at Everest base camp in 2007 and 2013 as part of cutting-edge research into intensive care survival.
Included was cardio pulmonary exercise testing, which shows the maximum rate blood can pass oxygen to muscles, and imaging tests of the capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the human body. Xtreme Everest undertook these tests at sea level and altitude to look at changes in blood flow at different heights.
Xtreme Everest's Dr Dan Martin invited Dr Mosely to visit the hypoxic chamber for four hours, taking him to a ‘height’ of 4,500 metres, which equates to approximately 12% oxygen. The ISEH’s hypoxic chamber allows researchers to recreate these environments at sea level. Dr Mosely said: “I just have to cross the room within the ISEH laboratory to be at the summit of Mont Blanc”.
The hypoxic chamber allows researchers to reduce oxygen levels to examine how the body takes in and uses oxygen, providing valuable insights into how intensive care patients who have hypoxia (lower oxygen levels) can be helped in the future.
Dr Martin explains how Dr Mosley’s body senses a reduced level of oxygen, prompting his heart to pump faster and harder to push more oxygen around his body to compensate for the lack of oxygen.
Xtreme Everest investigators spent three months living at altitude during their two expeditions, helping to show significant changes in the human body which could be used to improve patient care.
Professor Fares Haddad, Clinical Director of the ISEH, said: “The meeting of the latest research on sport and exercise and new thinking around ways to apply those findings to healthcare is exactly what the ISEH is all about. We're translating innovative research to provide valuable insights into how we can improve treatment and recovery for patients in the future.”
To watch the documentary in full visit BBC iPlayer (available until 15 April 2015).
