Talk:Hyperventilation

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Reduced carbon dioxide concentration causes the blood vessels in the brain to contract, resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain. It also affects the nerves, and can cause heart arrhythmias.

Why and how does this happen? AxelBoldt 05:26, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Offhand, I don't remember reading that hypocapnea (reduced carbon dioxide concentration) directly causes any blood vessels to constrict. It can affect nerves through a different mechanism, in that hypocapnea causes a shift in pH levels and that causes hypocalcemia which causes nerves to tingle (and I suppose, that that can cause heart arrhythmias although I would imagine that arrhythmias caused by hyperventilation to be quite rare). Alex.tan 17:48, 25 Dec 2004 (UTC)
In this artice they mention how hypercapnea dilates brain blood vessels, (and hypocapnea accordingly constricts them). They don't clearly say why the body does this though, what the point is. My conjecture: under hypercapnea, the brain vessels "think falsely" that the brain is currently working hard, using up a lot of oxygen and producing a lot of carbon dioxide. So they dilate, to bring more oxygen in. But I haven't read that anywhere. AxelBoldt 21:36, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Hypercapnea causing increased blood flow to the brain makes sense. It's not "thinking falsely", it's under the assumption (usually correct) that increased carbon dioxide concentration means reduced oxygen concentration. The bottom line is that there are more chemoreceptors measuring carbon dioxide levels than oxygen levels in the body. However, hypocapnea has much less of an effect on blood vessels given that physiological pCO2 levels range from 35-45 or so and you really have to hyperventilate fast for a period of time to get them anywhere near 20 whereas raising pCO2 levels just takes holding your breath for a short lenght of time. I still find it difficult to correlate heart arrhythmias with hypocapnea secondary to hyperventilation. Alex.tan 14:36, 6 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Split

We should either have both tachypnea merged with hyperventilation and bradypnea merged with hypoventilation or we should have neither merged for continuity. Please look at the bradypnea page and help us decide wheter that should be merged with hypoventilation (and an explanation added like is the case with tachypnea/hyperventilation page) or if the hyperventilation page should be separated from tachypnea. Thanks! Ayvah 13:13, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I personally think that tachypnea whould be split from hyperventilation because there are enough differences between the two that the information on hyperventilation isn't always useful for someone researching tachypnea (I speak from experience here - I need info on tachypnea and can't find it anywhere but find hyperventilation information wherever I search). Also, looking at the dates on this page, I understand that I'm coming in a little after the fact, but I figured that'd be alright with everyone...if I'm wrong about that, feel free to point it out... Jay 01:09, 7 April 2007 (UTC)
Tachypnea, hyperpnea, and hyperventilation are all different from each other. They all involve breathing fast, but imply slightly different mechanisms. They should each have their own page. Otherwise, it implies that one is subtype of another (tachypnea is the most general though). Cmcnicoll 18:32, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Hyperpnia should not be used interchangeably with hyperventilation. As I understood it, hyperventilation was the increased alveolar ventilation exceeding the metabolic demand for oxygen, this increases the alveolar partial pressure of oxygen (due to diffusion gradient - Fick's Law). Hyperpnia on the other hand is the increase in alveolar ventilation with an increased metabolic demand (as seen in excercise).

Definition should be changed with a better reference. Hyperventilation is the process of abnormally prolonged, rapid, and deep breathing (polypnea), resulting in increased alveolar ventilation which reduces carbon dioxide tension leading to alkalosis. (Dorland, W.A., Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 2000. W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, USA) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.49.127.90 (talk) 08:41, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

Done. [1] [2] [3] --209.244.43.122 (talk) 20:41, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Treatment

This section needs both revisions and additions. VodkaJazz 21:59, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

Treatment for the broad term hyperventilation will be hard to summarise as clinically there are three forms, artificial (mechanical ventilation), chronic (due to disease or syndrome such as chronic generalised anxiety syndrome) and psychogenic of which cause is often undiagnosable but still requires prompt treatment. The whole article would have to be expanded to accurately add a treatment thread.

[edit] Question on Treatment

"The common treatment of breathing into a paper bag is no longer recommended by physicians and nurses, as it can cause the carbon dioxide level to rise too rapidly"

Are there any sources to support this? Chrisjsaunders 15:18 (BST), 26 July 2006

I don't know of any sources, but Buteyko Breathing Therapists use a exercise called the Anti-Hyperventilation Exercise to take the place of a paper bag, this simple breathing exercise puts the gap or pause back in to rapid breathing and helps the breathing to slow down, you can find out more at Buteyko Method or at Buteyko. Alexspence 11 May 2007

[edit] "Hyperventilation can be self induced..."

This (misspelled) line, the last line of the first paragraph, is in direct conflict with the rest of the article. It reads that hyperventilation induces adrenaline rushes (not stated anywhere else in the article) and allows for clearer thought (while the article goes on to state that hyperventilation actually restricts blood flow to the brain). I'm going to remove it.