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Hypercapnia (from the Greek hyper, "above" or "too much" and kapnos, "smoke"), also known as hypercarbia and CO 2 retention, is a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2) levels in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous product of the body's metabolism and is normally expelled through the lungs.
Many people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a low partial pressure of oxygen in the blood and high partial pressure of carbon dioxide.Treatment with supplemental oxygen may improve their well-being; alternatively, in some this can lead to the adverse effect of elevating the carbon dioxide content in the blood (hypercapnia) to levels that may become toxic.
Hyperventilation is irregular breathing that occurs when the rate or tidal volume of breathing eliminates more carbon dioxide than the body can produce. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] This leads to hypocapnia , a reduced concentration of carbon dioxide dissolved in the blood.
The hyperventilation is self-promulgating as rapid or deep breathing causes carbon dioxide levels to fall below healthy levels, and respiratory alkalosis (high blood pH) develops. This makes the symptoms worse, which causes the person to breathe even faster, which then, further exacerbates the problem.
Changes in the levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and plasma pH are sent to the respiratory center, in the brainstem where they are regulated. The partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the arterial blood is monitored by the peripheral chemoreceptors in the carotid artery and aortic arch.
Low tidal volumes (V t) may cause a permitted rise in blood carbon dioxide levels and collapse of alveoli [10] because of their inherent tendency to increase shunting within the lung. Physiologic dead space cannot change as it is ventilation without perfusion.
Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial carbon dioxide levels is called hypercapnia. Respiratory failure is classified as ...
Under most conditions, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO 2), or concentration of carbon dioxide, controls the respiratory rate. The peripheral chemoreceptors that detect changes in the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide are located in the arterial aortic bodies and the carotid bodies. [2]