Hyperventilation Essay

In order to hold his breath for longer underwater, Dickson intentionally hyperventilated for a few minutes before entering the pool. By doing so, he had conditioned his body such that he would not need to breathe as much when he is underwater. This is because when one hyperventilates, we lower the PCO2 in our body and thus need to take a longer time for PCO2 to reach its threshold level to trigger reflex breathing (Ferretti G., 2001), for the notion of needing to expel carbon dioxide from the system as that is the trigger to breathing. However, if not done properly this can lead to aggravating consequences as hyperventilation has adverse effects on the respiratory system in the body, as will be explained below.

Hyperventilation results in the elimination of more carbon dioxide than is produced (Folgering, 1999). Effects of hyperventilation include

These receptor elements then respond to the changes in H+ concentration in the interstitial fluid in the brain, causing ventilatory and circulatory adjustments during hypercapnia and chronic disturbances of acid-base balance (O'Regan & Majcherczyk, 1982). Similarly, the peripheral chemoreceptors also sense the increase in pH and would signal to the respiratory centers via the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves.

The peripheral chemoreceptor drive can modulate central chemosensitivity during hypercapnia (O'Regan & Majcherczyk, 1982). Both central and peripheral chemoreceptors would send fewer impulses to the respiratory centers (central: the medulla oblongata, peripheral: the aortic and carotid bodies). This would result in a decrease in muscle contraction, which would subsequently lower ventilation. As a result, lesser CO2 is exhaled. The vascular effects include coronary vasodilation and vasoconstriction in skeletal muscle and the splanchnic area (O'Regan & Majcherczyk,