A terial Blood Gases and Acid-Base Balance at Sea Level and at High Altitudes

The circulation in patients with chronic bronchitis and emphysema at rest and during exercise, with special reference to the influence of changes in blood viscosity and blood volume on the pulmonary circulation.

“…The presence of a plasma erythropoietic factor has been demonstrated in patients with chronic bronchitis with persistent hypoxemia (36,37) and also in dwellers at high altitude (38). Although a correlation between arterial carbon dioxide tension and red cell volume has been demonstrated by Blumenthal and Cander (11) and in the present study, it appears unlikely that hypercapnia stimulates erythropoiesis, since the level of Paco2 is low in high altitude dwellers (39) and in patients with cyanotic heart disease (40). High levels of carbon dioxide may even inhibit bone marrow activity (41).…”

Effect of altitude on oxygen binding by hemoglobin and on organic phosphate levels

“…While it is a common finding that alkalosis develops rapidly and persists in lowlanders subjected to altitude hypoxia, it is also recognized that natives of the highland differ by maintaining a normal pH (22,23). Therefore, the increase in 2,3-DPG in lowlanders and the prevailing high level of organic phosphate in natives cannot be ascribed to the pH.…”

Arterial Blood Gases and Acid-Base Balance in Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease 1

“…In Figures 1 and 2 the last column of each group contains corresponding data for residents at high altitude, taken from the reports of Dill et al (11)(12)(13) and of Hurtado and Aste-Salazar (14). The triangles and squares of Figure 3 also show these data.…”

“…Dill, Talbott and Consolazio (13) showed that an essential process in acclimatization to high altitude consists first of hyperventilation to increase alveolar oxygen pressure, followed later by a reduction of the alkaline reserve of the plasma by kidney action to the point where the normal ratio between the pCO2 and the serum bicarbonate is reached. Both Dill, Talbott and Consolazio (13) and Hurtado and Aste-Salazar (14) found that the arterial blood serum of permanent residents at high altitude is characterized by a lowering of the pCO2 proportional to that of the alkaline reserve, with a normal or slightly low pH8, in contrast to the elevated pH. of the arterial blood of temporary residents at high altitude.…”