respiratory alkalosis

Examples of respiratory alkalosis in the following topics:

• Disorders of Acid-Base Balance

  • Over compensation via respiratory alkalosis to form an alkalemia does not occur.
  • There are two types of respiratory alkalosis: chronic and acute.
  • Acute respiratory alkalosis occurs rapidly.
  • Chronic respiratory alkalosis is a more long-standing condition.
  • A Davenport diagram illustrating the transition from respiratory acidosis to respiratory alkalosis.

• Chemical Composition of Bone

  • Overcompensation via respiratory alkalosis to form an alkalemia does not occur.
  • There are two types of respiratory alkalosis: chronic and acute.
  • Acute respiratory alkalosis occurs rapidly.
  • Chronic respiratory alkalosis is a more long-standing condition.
  • Differentiate among the acid-base disorders: metabolic acidosis, metabolic alkalosis, respiratory acidosis, and respiratory alkalosis

• Alkalosis

  • Generally, alkalosis is said to occur when pH of the blood exceeds 7.45.
  • Alkalosis can refer to respiratory alkalosis or metabolic alkalosis.
  • The main cause of respiratory alkalosis is hyperventilation, resulting in a loss of carbon dioxide.
  • Compensatory mechanism for metabolic alkalosis involves slowed breathing by the lungs to increase serum carbon dioxide, a condition leaning toward respiratory acidosis.
  • As respiratory acidosis often accompanies the compensation for metabolic alkalosis, and vice versa, a delicate balance is created between these two conditions.

• Regulation of H+ by the Lungs

  • The process that causes the imbalance is classified based on the etiology of the disturbance (respiratory or metabolic) and the direction of change in pH (acidosis or alkalosis).
  • There are four basic processes: metabolic acidosis, respiratory acidosis, metabolic alkalosis, and respiratory alkalosis.

• The Reason for Breathing

  • The respiratory system facilitates breathing.
  • Respiratory alkalosis happens when the opposite effect occurs.
  • Alkalosis can happen from hyperventilation (too much breathing) which removes too much carbon dioxide from the bloodstream.
  • These feedback mechanisms can fail in people with chronic respiratory diseases like emphysema and bronchitis, or from the side effects of certain drugs, in which acidosis and alkalosis will occur regardless.
  • One of the primary reasons for breathing is to regulate blood pH so that respiratory acidosis and alkalosis don't occur.

• Adjustments at High Altitude

  • However, hyperventilation also causes the adverse effect of alkalosis due to increasing the rate by which carbon dioxide is removed from the body, which inhibits the respiratory center from enhancing the respiratory rate to meet the oxygen demands.
  • Along with alkalosis, these effects make up the symptoms of altitude sickness, which become worse during exercise at high altitudes (which involves more anaerobic respiration than at lower altitudes), but falls off during acclimatization.
  • Gradually, the body compensates for the respiratory alkalosis by kidney excretion of bicarbonate, which allows adequate respiration to provide oxygen without risking alkalosis.

• Functional Anatomy of the Respiratory System

  • The respiratory system include lungs, airways and respiratory muscles.
  • If proper ventilation is not maintained, two opposing conditions could occur: respiratory acidosis (a life threatening condition) and respiratory alkalosis.
  • It is defined as volume of dead space times the respiratory rate.
  • A normal human respiratory rate is 10 to 18 breaths per minute.
  • A complete, schematic view of the human respiratory system with its parts and functions.

• Acidosis

  • Acidosis is said to occur when arterial pH falls below 7.35, while its counterpart (alkalosis) occurs at a pH over 7.45.
  • The distinction may be relevant where a patient has factors causing both acidosis and alkalosis, wherein the relative severity of both determines whether the result is a high or a low pH.
  • It can also occur as a compensatory response to chronic metabolic alkalosis.
  • One key to distinguish between respiratory and metabolic acidosis is that in respiratory acidosis, the CO2 is increased while the bicarbonate is either normal (uncompensated) or increased (compensated).
  • These symptoms usually accompany symptoms of another primary defect (respiratory or metabolic).

• Chemoreceptor Regulation of Breathing

  • The respiratory chemoreceptors work by sensing the pH of their environment through the concentration of hydrogen ions.
  • They do not desensitize, and have less of an impact on the respiratory rate compared to the central chemoreceptors.
  • For the respiratory rate, the chemoreceptors are the sensors for blood pH, the medulla and pons form the integrating center, and the respiratory muscles are the effector.
  • Without that carbon dioxide, there will be less carbonic acid in blood, so the concentration of hydrogen ions decreases and the pH of the blood rises, causing alkalosis.
  • Conversely, vomiting removes hydrogen ions from the body (as the stomach contents are acidic), which will cause decreased ventilation to correct alkalosis.

• Vomiting

  • Vomiting can be dangerous if the gastric contents get into the respiratory tract.
  • Combined with the resulting alkaline tide, this leads to metabolic alkalosis and often hypokalemia.
  • In the retching phase, the abdominal muscles undergo a few rounds of coordinated contractions together with the diaphragm and the muscles used in respiratory inspiration.