# ambient temp for pulmonary hemorrage?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ambient-temp-for-pulmonary-hemorrage/805916>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 5, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ambient-temp-for-pulmonary-hemorrage/805916 "2018-01-05T14:14:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ambient-temp-for-pulmonary-hemorrage/805916/1 "2018-01-05T14:14:49Z")

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A plot point in a recent movie involved death by acute pulmonary hemorrage caused by intense aerobic activity at extremely cold outdoor temperature: the very cold air froze the thin alveolar membranes of the victim’s lungs, causing them to drown in their own blood/mucus.

I recall hearing of such a thing many years ago in the context of arctic or antarctic exploration, but had not heard of it since then. It turns out there is a thing called [exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise-induced_pulmonary_hemorrhage) but it’s mostly associated with horses and there doesn’t seem to be a connection to air temperature.

So what’s the straight dope? Is it possible to die from pulmonary hemorrhage if you breathe vigorously in extremely cold environs? Or was this just a movie exaggeration?