section_path: Adaptations to altitude
section_name: Adaptations to altitude
paragraph_text: Adaptations to altitude
  
  The people of the Andes, including the Incas, were able to adapt to high-altitude living through successful acclimatization, which is characterized by increasing oxygen supply to the blood tissues. For the native living in the Andean highlands, this was achieved through the development of a larger lung capacity, and an increase in red blood cell counts, hemoglobin concentration, and capillary beds.
  
  Compared to other humans, the Andeans had slower heart rates, almost one-third larger lung capacity, about 2 L (4 pints) more blood volume and double the amount of hemoglobin, which transfers oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. While the Conquistadors may have been taller, the Inca had the advantage of coping with the extraordinary altitude. The Tibetans in Asia living in the Himalayas are also adapted to living in high-altitudes, although the adaptation is different from that of the Andeans.