To K2!

Apart from being the second highest peak in the world, K2 is considered the most difficult mountain to climb. The reason lies in its 8,611-meter height, combined with the extreme steepness of its slopes.

Anna Torretta being interviewed immediately after the press conference held at the terraXcube to present the research project on women’s physiology at extreme altitudes. The mountaineer is one of eight women who will climb K2 in July.

The eight mountaineers who will climb K2 in July underwent a series of examinations and tests, performed both at the same altitude in Bolzano and at the simulated altitude of 5,000 m.a.s.l. In this photo, Cristina Piolini undergoes an objective examination aimed at assessing her overall health status.

Ultrasound of neck blood vessels, performed on Silvia Loreggian, to quantify blood flow reaching the brain. In hypoxia, cerebral blood flow increases, compensating for the lack of oxygen. However, at the same time, this causes the brain to swell slightly. It is this phenomenon that is responsible for the headache typical of mountain sickness.

Ultrasound of blood vessels performed on Federica Mingolla. Using the ultrasound scanner, it is possible to estimate the velocity of the blood and the diameter of the blood vessels. Using these two parameters, it is possible to calculate how much direct blood flow to the brain there is.

Measurement of cerebral blood flow at the level of arteries located inside the skull.

By resting the ultrasound probe on the eyeball, the diameter of the optic nerve, an indicator of intracranial pressure can be measured: the more the brain is swollen with blood and fluid, the greater the pressure it exerts on the skull and, the greater the diameter of the optic nerve.

Lung ultrasound performed to detect the possible presence of pulmonary edema. In hypoxia, the capillaries of the pulmonary arteries narrow. This physiological response, present in humans from fetal life, reduces blood flow to areas of the lung that are poorly oxygenated, directing it to those that are more so. At the same time, however, narrowing of the pulmonary blood vessels causes an increase in the blood pressure within them. This increase in blood pressure in turn causes blood plasma to leak from the capillaries. Edema is when the plasma accumulates in the spaces between cells or in the pulmonary alveoli. Edema reduces lung function further and, in severe cases, can lead to death.

A strain gauge records microscopic deformations of the skull caused by blood flow to the brain. Whenever the pressure wave generated by a heartbeat reaches the brain, the blood causes slight expansions of the skull, which this innovative instrument detects.

Like a kind of seismograph, this mechanical strain gauge detects the deformations produced by blood pressure on the cranial box. From the magnitude and appearance of these deformations, intracranial pressure can be estimated.

Silvia Loreggian undergoes a test to evaluate cardiorespiratory responses whilst on a cycle ergometer. During this test, the heart’s activity is monitored using heart rate and blood pressure and with an electrocardiogram. At the same time, the face mask is connected to a turbine that quantifies the volume of inhaled and exhaled air. The mask is also connected to sensor that measures the percentage of carbon dioxide and oxygen . By comparing the percentage of oxygen inhaled with that exhaled, the amount of oxygen that reaches the muscles and is consumed is traced back. Finally, oxygenation of the muscles is measured through an infrared sensor placed on the muscles of the lower limbs.

The women mountaineers performed these cardiorespiratory stress tests on the cycle ergometer both at the Bolzano’s altitude and at the simulated altitude of 5,000 m.a.s.l. The test will be repeated once the K2 expedition is completed. The goal is to understand how acclimatization – the process of physiological adaptation to high altitude, affects the functioning of the respiratory, cardiovascular and muscular systems.