What is Hypercapnia?
First of all, it is also known as: increased CO2 levels as well as high CO2. This is the term referring to increased levels of carbon dioxide, which is the waste product of respiration, in the blood system. Those individuals who suffer with COPD or other respiratory diseases have problems moving air into and out of the lung. This simply means that it is difficult for their lungs to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide, which is an essential process of the overall process of breathing. Carbon dioxide in the blood can lead to low levels of oxygen in the blood which is referred to as hypoxemia also with the high levels of carbon dioxide– or hypercapnia.
Patients with diseases such as COPD have problems with the movement of air into and out of the lungs. This means it is also problematic for the lungs to interchange oxygen for carbon dioxide, all of which are essential parts of breathing properly. This may lead to low levels of oxygen in the blood – or hypoxemia as well as level of carbon dioxide – hypercapnia.
As mentioned above hypercapnia is the buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood system.
Hypercapnia Symptoms
Hypercapnia develops rather slowly over time and is very mild to the extent of not even showing any symptoms at all. When symptoms do develop they might initially include:
- Headache
- Inability to think straight
- Drowsiness or sleepiness
Symptoms of more severe hypercapnia can eventually lead to what is known as “respiratory failure” as well as possible death, and these late symptoms include:
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- Skin that is flushed
- Rapid breathing
- Dizziness
- Blood pressure increase
- Heart rate increase
- Muscle twitches.
Hypercapnia Causes
The causes can be many ranging from lungs being in bad shape due to smoking or breathing chemical at a job to some predisposed condition where problems with lungs are genetic. All it really means is that for some reason the lungs are damaged so the individual is not able to inhale or exhale fully so that not enough oxygen reaches the blood system and instead there is gradually a built up of CO2.
Other examples of conditions that can lead to hypercapnia include:
- Drug overdose
- Seizures
- Skeletal muscle that are weak
- Lesions of the brainstem
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Asthma
Hypercapnia Treatment
Treatment for hypercapnia is dependent upon now bad the disease is, and begins with finding the underlying cause and treating it. If this is unproductive, additional management may include:
- Positive Pressure ventilation and is non-invasive–BiPAP or CPAP
- Intubation together with ventilation that is mechanical
