Early effect of moderate altitude stress on plasma potassium in the dog

Abstract

Exposure of dogs to a simulated altitude of 30,000 feet for 30 minutes resulted in marked respiratory alkalosis and hypokalemia. The data failed to demonstrate, however, the appearance of the early transient hyperkalemic response which has been observed in human beings in the early moments of hyperventilation. Blood pH rose from an initial level of 7.46 to 7.71 after 3 minutes of exposure to altitude. At 30 minutes it had declined slightly from this maximal level to 7.63, suggesting the development of partial compensation to respiratory alkalosis. The results also indicated a temporal potassium-glucose relationship, potassium decreasing and glucose increasing simultaneously during exposure to altitude. Submitted on July 13, 1959