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Hyperventilation syndrome is believed to be caused by psychological factors. [8] It is one cause of hyperventilation with others including infection, blood loss, heart attack, [9] hypocapnia or alkalosis due to chemical imbalances, decreased cerebral blood flow, and increased nerve sensitivity. [10]
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 main physiologic causes of hypocapnia are related to hyperventilation. Hypocapnia is sometimes induced in the treatment of medical emergencies such as intracranial hypertension [3] and hyperkalemia. Self-induced hypocapnia through hyperventilation is the basis for the dangerous schoolyard fainting game.
Acute respiratory acidosis occurs when an abrupt failure of ventilation occurs. This failure in ventilation may be caused by depression of the central respiratory center by cerebral disease or drugs, inability to ventilate adequately due to neuromuscular disease (e.g., myasthenia gravis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Guillain–Barré syndrome, muscular dystrophy), or airway obstruction ...
The presence of hyperventilation during sleep excludes any possible emotional or psychogenic causes for the sustained hyperventilation. [8] There must also be no evidence of drug or metabolic causes, including cardiac or pulmonary disease, or recent or current use of respiration-stimulating drugs.
Carbon dioxide is a gaseous product of the body's metabolism and is normally expelled through the lungs. Carbon dioxide may accumulate in any condition that causes hypoventilation, a reduction of alveolar ventilation (the clearance of air from the small sacs of the lung where gas exchange takes place) as well as resulting from inhalation of CO 2.
Hyperventilation may be entirely voluntary or in response to emotional agitation or anxiety, when it can cause the distressing hyperventilation syndrome. The voluntary control can also influence other functions such as the heart rate as in yoga practices and meditation. [7]
The aim in treatment is to detect the underlying cause. When PaCO2 is adjusted rapidly in individuals with chronic respiratory alkalosis, metabolic acidosis may occur. [ 3 ] If the individual is on a mechanical ventilator then preventing hyperventilation is done via monitoring ABG levels.