Normal Pulse Ox Range High Altitude

Although air contains 20 9 oxygen at all altitudes lower air pressure at high altitude makes it feel like there is a lower percentage of oxygen.

Normal pulse ox range high altitude. Normal and low blood oxygen levels a normal blood oxygen level varies between 75 and 100. Pulse oximetry at high altitude. 12 109 119 2011 pulse oximetry is a valuable noninvasive diagnostic tool for the evaluation of ill individuals at high altitude and is also being increasingly used to monitor the well being of individuals traveling on high. For these reasons clinical decisions should not be based on small differences in saturation over time.

Modified from hackett 1995. In denver 5 000 ft. Many patients with lung disease will have an oximetry reading of 90 but that is fine. Pulse oximetry at high altitude high alt med biol.

If a pulse ox measured your blood oxygen level spo2 a normal reading is typically between 95 and 100 percent. In denver 5 000 feet altitude a normal saturation in a healthy person is about 90. Many patients with copd will have an oximetry reading in the mid or low 90 s but that is fine. A normal saturation at sea level is about 98.

The chart is based on the ideal gas law equation for pressure versus altitude barometric formula assuming a constant atmospheric temperature of 32 degrees fahrenheit 0 celsius and 1. Altitude a normal saturation is about 90. This chart will help you find oxygen levels at altitudes you are interested in starting with the oxygen content of the air at sea level. It is usually lower on first arrival at a given altitude and rises somewhat with acclimatization.

People without lung disease also have low saturation readings when they go to a high altitude. Once above about 6500 m sao2 flattens out at about 60 65 and then drops very little because of the large increase in ventilation and the subsequent respiratory alkalosis which shifts the. Sao2 varies over a range in normal individuals at a given altitude. A healthy person with normal lungs breathing at normal altitude should have an oxygen saturation level between 95 percent and 100 percent.

But there is a bit of nuance involved here and that s how pulse oximeters measure our blood oxygen levels. Luks andrew m erik r. For people who wish to purchase a pulse oximeter there is a range of easy to use devices available online. Below is an altitude oxygen chart that extrapolates oxygen percentages to real altitude which you can use in conjunction with hypoxico systems.

The normal oxygen saturation at a given elevation may not be known with certainty and should be viewed as a range of values rather than a specific number.