Altitude Illness: High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE)

Pulmonary and cerebral edema also result from hypoxia and represent a much more significant threat to life. High-altitude pulmonary edema, or HAPE, is less common than AMS but is more serious.

 

The primary symptoms of HAPE are:

• shortness of breath, even while resting
• a cough that may eventually produce a rusty-colored sputum
• the individual may be uncomfortable or anxious and exhibit rapid pulse rate in excess of 100, even lying down;
• extreme fatigue, mental confusion, and coma may follow; and
• possibility of a fever.

 

HAPE is sometimes confused with chest colds because of the possibility of a fever. The danger here is that some symptoms are subtle and slow to progress. Other symptoms can develop rapidly and can be fatal. Climbers left to rest, recover, or see how things go tomorrow may become comatose before you can evacuate them. If bad weather develops and climbers are forced to wait it out, it may be too late; HAPE may progress and become fatal. Supervisors must be aware of the symptoms and be conservative in their judgment. The best treatment for an individual suspected of developing HAPE is to descend immediately. Sometimes as little as 1,000 feet of descent is enough to reduce and eliminate HAPE completely (Houston 1993).

 

SOURCE:

-Dougherty, Neil J. IV. Mountaineering Safety. Outdoor Recreation Safety. United States: The School and Community Safety Society of America, 1998.

-Houston, C.S. 1987. Going higher, The story of man and altitude, 3^rd ed., rev. Boston: Little, Brown.