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Hypercapnia is a condition that arises from high carbon dioxide levels in the blood. The normal value of the carbon dioxide level in adults are 22 to 29 mmol/L. A value of 33mmol/l in a patient will indicate hypercapnia. It is often caused by hypoventilation, which is disordered breathing causing poor oxygen entrance into the lungs and poor carbon dioxide emission from the lungs. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a well-known lung pathology that can result in hypercapnia. CO2 is an acid anhydride and it dissolves in water as, CO2, H2O, H2CO3, which is an acid. Therefore, too much carbon dioxide level in the blood will cause respiratory acidosis. How to lower the carbon dioxide level in blood? The body's main response to hypercapnia is to get rid of more carbonic acid and hold on to as much bicarbonate based in the kidneys.
There are multiple causes that can give rise to high carbon dioxide levels in the blood. They can be mainly classified as respiratory and non-respiratory causes;
This is one of the most common causes of hypercapnia. COPD can be due to chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic inflammation of the bronchi in bronchitis gradually results in narrowing of the airways, making less carbon dioxide wash out. In emphysema, there is the destruction of alveoli resulting in ventilation & perfusion miss-match. That will also ultimately elevate the blood carbon dioxide level.
When a person is suffering from sleep apnea, he or she may experience shallow breathing or pauses in breathing during sleep. Poor breathing can make the blood carbon dioxide level rise up.
Diseases like myasthenia gravis, Guillen Barre syndrome, Duchenne muscular dystrophy are few neuromuscular disorders that can interfere with proper breathing. Multiple sclerosis and encephalitis can be classified under neurological conditions which can cause hypercapnia.
Brain stem stroke is another neurological condition that can stop the patient's spontaneous breathing because the respiratory center is situated there.
Drugs like benzodiazepines, opioids, etc. can give rise to respiratory arrest as a fatal adverse effect.
When your blood carbon dioxide level is higher than normal, you may start feeling the following symptoms mainly involving thoughts, memory, and sleep. They are a headache, memory loss, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and personality changes. The above symptoms will be experienced in the early stage of acidosis. In conditions like acute respiratory failure, there will be a drastic reduction in blood pH levels. Effects involving several organs may arise with this sudden lowering of the pH level. That includes reduced heart muscle function, disturbances in heart rhythm, producing arrhythmias, hypotension.
Hypercapnia causing acidosis can be classified into acute and chronic respiratory acidosis. Chronic respiratory acidosis is most commonly occurring due to underlying lung pathology. So, when discussing how to lower high carbon dioxide levels in the blood, management of the underlying lung pathology gets the priority.
All above-mentioned drugs will assist in airway dilation and make breathing easier. More CO2 will be washed out from the lungs and the blood carbon dioxide level will be lowered. So, all the above treatment options can be described under how to lower high carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
Since too much carbon dioxide in the blood can be harmful to the patient with fatal outcomes, it is important to detect and treat the condition promptly. It should be done, following the provided guidelines for how to lower the carbon dioxide level in blood.