Item 1 (Initiation of Exercise): The respiratory rate increases to maintain and suffice the amount of oxygen required to proceed with exercise and muscle contraction.
Item 2 (Moderate Exercise): The body utilizes more oxygen and produces more carbon dioxide when exercise becomes moderate and muscles work harder. With this, ventilation increases (about 15x a minute when resting and 40-60x a minute when exercising) in the exact proportion to the volume of carbon dioxide produced.
Item 3 (Abrupt Ascent Into High Altitudes): Hyperventilation, together with elevated heart rates, will aim to achieve an adequate supply of oxygen to the tissues.
Item 4 (Paralysis of Phrenic Nerve): There will be shortness of breath when lying flat, with walking or immersion in water up to the lower chest, and sleep-disordered breathing with reductions in blood oxygen levels may be produced.
Item 5 (Severe Anemia): There may be shortness of breath because there is insufficient red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body. The lungs overcompensate to bring more oxygen (causing breathing difficulties) and low levels of hemoglobin prevent adequate oxygen from reaching the brain (causing headaches, neurological issues, and vertigo).
Item 6 (Advanced Pregnancy): Hormones and physical changes due to the growing fetus can affect the URT and LRT through generating stuffy or runny nose, nosebleeds, and a barrel-shaped chest.
Sources
- Your lungs and exercise. (2016). Breathe (Sheffield, England), 12(1), 97–100. https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.ELF121
- N.A. (n.d.). Exercise Physiology Laboratory. The McGill Physiology Virtual Lab. Retrieved from https://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/physio/vlab/exercise/resp.htm#:~:text=During%20moderate%20exercise%20ventilation%20increases,VA%20increases%20in%20proportion.
- 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
- N.A. (n.d.). Paralyzed Diaphragm. Cedars Sinai. Retrieved from https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/p/paralyzed-diaphragm.html#:~:text=Symptoms%20of%20significant%2C%20usually%20bilateral,reductions%20in%20blood%20oxygen%20levels.
- Smith-Garcia, D. (2023). Why Am I Short of Breath With Anemia?. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/anemia/anemia-and-shortness-of-breath
- N.A. (2020). 10 Symptoms of Anemia You Shouldn’t Ignore. Texas Medical Institute. Retrieved from https://www.texasmedicalinstitute.com/10-symptoms-of-anemia-you-shouldnt-ignore/#:~:text=With%20anemia%2C%20the%20lungs%20overcompensate,%2C%20neurological%20issues%2C%20and%20vertigo.
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N.A. (n.d.). The Lungs in Pregnancy. Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. Retrieved from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=the-lungs-in-pregnancy-90-P02468#:~:text=Hormones%20and%20physical%20changes%20due,size%20from%20front%20to%20back.