A. ACTIVITY
Briefly explain the main cause or mechanism of increase in respiratory rate or depth and/or respiratory difficulties in the following cases: (one to two sentences only)
1. Initiation of exercise- (increase in respiratory rate or depth): During the initiation of exercise such as warmups, the body starts to ramp up the oxygen, therefore, increasing the demand for breathing.
2. Moderate exercise- (increase in respiratory rate or depth): After the initiation, when doing moderate exercises, it requires respiring muscles efficiently and so the body significantly. Increases the demand for oxygen even higher in this case because of the moderate intensity.
3. Asthma attack- (respiratory difficulties): When an asthma attack occurs, the muscles around the airways tighten, or “spasm” and the lining inside the airways swells or thickens and gets clogged with lots of thick mucus. It is harder for the air to move in and out of the air sacs.
4. Abrupt ascent into high altitudes- (increase in respiratory rate or depth | respiratory difficulties): In the case of respiratory rate, it's because of the body maximizes the amount of oxygen since high altitudes equal thinner air. In the case of respiratory difficulties, the abrupt ascent can cause hyperventilation.
5. Pneumonia- (respiratory difficulties): Lung air sacs (alveoli) become irritated and swell with fluid or pus because of the infection. The oxygen you breathe in may have a difficult time entering your system as a result.
6. Paralysis of phrenic nerve- (respiratory difficulties): The damage to the phrenic nerve can cause the diaphragm to weaken or be paralyzed which can lead to symptoms of dyspnea. People with symptoms of dyspnea have respiratory difficulties due to shortness of breath.
7. Severe tuberculosis with resulting lung scar tissue- (respiratory difficulties): The lung scarring causes the loss of parenchymal tissue, leading to restrictive lung disease. Restrictive lung disease will decrease the total volume of air that the lungs can hold making it difficult to breathe.
8. Severe anemia- (respiratory difficulties): Depressed amount of red blood cells affects the respiratory system through overcompensation of the lungs in increasing the oxygen level.
9. Advanced COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)- (respiratory difficulties): The lungs' small air sacs and airways no longer have the ability to expand and contract. Many of the air sacs' interstitial walls have been broken. The walls of the airways enlarge and swell. More mucus than usual is produced by the airways, which can plug them and prevent airflow.
10. Advanced pregnancy- (increase in respiratory rate or depth | respiratory difficulties): During advanced pregnancy, the chest size increases, and the huge flat muscle required for breathing, the diaphragm, rises upward and toward the chest. Air intake and exhalation have increased, but a total reduction in the amount of air that the lungs can hold.
References:
Asthma Attacks - Department of Pediatrics. (n.d.). UVA School of Medicine. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://med.virginia.edu/pediatrics/clinical-and-patient-services/patient-tutorials/asthma/asthma-attacks/
Cogo A. (2011). The lung at high altitude. Multidisciplinary respiratory medicine, 6(1), 14–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/2049-6958-6-1-14
Does tuberculosis cause COPD, pulmonary fibrosis or restrictive lung disease? (2019, January 5). Yashoda Hospitals. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.yashodahospitals.com/blog/does-tuberculosis-cause-copd-pulmonary-fibrosis-or-restrictive-lung-disease/
Learn About Pneumonia. (n.d.). American Lung Association. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/learn-about-pneumonia
Li, Z. (2022, August 8). Phrenic Nerve Injury - StatPearls. NCBI. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482227/
The Lungs in Pregnancy. (n.d.). Stanford Children's Health. Retrieved October 27, 2022, from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=the-lungs-in-pregnancy-90-P02468
Your lungs and exercise. (2016). Breathe (Sheffield, England), 12(1), 97–100. https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.ELF121