Question

32. What happens if there is an increase in carbon dioxide in the blood?

Answer 1

CO2 (Carbon dioxide) is a byproduct of cellular respiration.

Increased CO2 levels in the blood is termed as hypercarbia or hypercapnia.

There will be an underlying disease condition such as asthma, emphysema, spinal cord injury or lung tumors that cause inadequate ventilation, respiratory obstruction or impaired gas exchange in alveoli that result in the increased CO2 in blood.

Once CO2 produced in the body, it reacts with water to form carbonic acid, resulting in a decrease in pH (as acidity increases, pH decreases) leads to respiratory acidosis.

Respiratory acidosis is the condition where there is carbonic acid excess, CO2 retention, PCO2 (Partial pressure of CO2) is greater than 45 mm Hg and pH is below 7.35. It is manifested by dyspnea, irritability, disorientation, tachycardia, cyanosis, and coma.