Influence of altitude on HRV

Training-induced positive changes in the autonomic control of the cardiovascular system are not affected by life in a hypoxic environment. This fact was observed in trained individuals living permanently and coming from the alpine environment of the Andes. The dominance of sympathetic activity observed 6-8 hours after the marathon at high altitude (4220 m above sea level) completely disappeared within one day (Cornolo et al., 2005). Stejskal (2014, verbal presentation) recommends an high altitude training, but at the same time recommends the use of HRV for group selection. The reason for the division is the different reaction of individuals with high and low ANS activity in this environment. In individuals with low ANS activity, residence may have the opposite, negative effect, compared to individuals with high ANS activity. This could lead to a significant reduction in ANS and overload of the organism. Cyprian (2008) also describes in his work that an high altitude/alpine environment training may not always be beneficial for all athletes. The environment of high altitudes is probably a big stress factor for an organism that is not equipped with high ANS activity.