Hypercapnia is a condition in which the carbon dioxide levels reach unsafe levels in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a metabolic product formed during cellular respiration. It is removed from your tissue to the blood and from your blood to the air through your lungs. If your blood carbon dioxide levels increase, your body responds by increasing your breathing rate, also called hyperventilation. This leads to increased removal of carbon dioxide, notes the book "Anatomy & Physiology."
Causes and Symptoms of Hypercapnia
Hypercapnia happens when your respiratory system fails to remove carbon dioxide from the blood at a normal rate. Hypercapnia can be caused by a lowered respiration rate, also called hypoventilation, increased carbon dioxide production by your body, lung disease or diminished consciousness. Symptoms can include headache, confusion, lethargy, raised blood pressure and hyperventilation.
Exercised-Induced Asthma
Exercised-induced asthma is a condition during which your airways tighten and you produce extra amounts of mucus. Exercised-induced asthma can be triggered by vigorous or prolonged exercise. Even people who do not suffer from chronic asthma can suffer from exercised-induced asthma. The symptoms include fatigue, coughing, tightening of the chest, wheezing and shortness of breath. The symptoms generally begin as soon as five minutes from of the beginning of the exercise, notes MayoClinic.com.
Hypocapnia and Exercise-Induced Asthma
When you exercise, the carbon dioxide levels in your blood increase. This stimulates your breathing rate to increase to get rid of the excess carbon dioxide. The opposite reaction happens when your blood carbon dioxide levels drop too low. In response, your body lowers your breathing rate to increase the carbon dioxide levels to normal. People who suffer from asthma hyperventilate in excess during an exercise. According to the Buteyko Breathing Clinic, exercise-induced asthma happens due to the excess hyperventilation. Asthmatic patients increase their breathing volume faster than carbon dioxide is produced in their body. This leads to airway constriction due to excess removal of carbon dioxide from your blood. In other words, exercise-induced asthma leads to hypocapnia, not hypercapnia.
Treatment and Prevention of Exercised-Induced Asthma
Exercised-induced asthma can be triggered by exercising in cold and dry air, air pollution, respiratory infection or being out of shape. Your doctor may prescribe a bronchodilator medication, like albuterol, to treat the symptoms of asthma. However, you can do certain things to reduce symptoms of asthma when exercising. According to the Mayo Clinic, steps such as warming up before strenuous exercise, exercising in a humid environment, avoiding allergens, breathing through your nose, and covering your mouth and nose when exercising in cold air may control the symptoms of exercise-induced asthma.
References
- "Anatomy and Physiology"; Gary Thibodeau et al; 2007
- Mayo Clinic: Exercise-Induced Asthma
- Buteyko Breathin Clinic: Exercise-Induced Asthma
