Elyse Ping Medvigy, U.S. Army Reserve Platoon Leader, 356th Broadcast Operations Detachment, graduate student at Georgetown University, and Denali Expedition Leader for USX., Ping Medvigy was the first female active duty soldier to summit Mount Everest (with USX in 2016), and the Army's first female Artillery Officer chosen to integrate into an all-male light infantry company. Ping Medvigy is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan (2014-2015).
Ping Medvigy was most recently part of a five-member mountaineering team of U.S. military, veterans, and a physician from non-profit U.S. Expeditions and Explorations (USX) summited North America's highest peak, Denali, Alaska, during a scientific research expedition to benefit the study of high altitude cardiology, May 14 to June 5, 2018. Team members wore wireless electrocardiogram sensors to capture cardiology data and detect cardiac arrhythmias at high altitude. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most frequent cause of non-traumatic death in men over 34 years at high altitude during leisure activities like skiing and hiking.
Researchers believe high altitude increases the likelihood of cardiac arrhythmias, which escalate the chance of stroke fivefold and double the risk for SCD. Limited data on this subject exists where participants ranged above 5,000 meters (16,404 feet). To fill this void, USX captured cardiology data up to 6,190 meters (20,310 feet) while summiting Denali by its West Buttress. While on Denali, each USX team member used a journal to meticulously document symptoms they experienced while ascending and descending the mountain. The research findings, which will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal in spring 2019.