Contents
Introduction
State of alveolar ventilation in excess of metabolic requirements, leading to a decreased arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide sometimes resulting in respiratory alkalosis and an increase in pH.
Clinical features
Functionally, hyperventilation involves either fast or deeper breathing, or it may be the combination of both, resulting in an increase in minute ventilation above what is required by the organism’s metabolic demand.
- Acute hyperventilation: Episodic in nature, often described a classic “panic attack”
- Chronic hyperventilation: PaCO2 always below normal range but patient may experience few symptoms
Diagnosis
Hyperventilation syndrome is a disorder with no widely accepted diagnostic criteria. Therefore its diagnosis widely relies on the physician’s experience and medical education.
Nijmegen questionnaire:
Screening tool containing 16 questions to help to identify patients who may be suffering from dysfunctional breathing who would benefit from breathing retraining.
Blood gas analysis:
Hyperventilation differs from hyperpnea, which is increased minute ventilation without change in carbon dioxide partial pressure (PCO2).
Hyperventilation provocation test:
The induction of hypocapnia is most often achieved through voluntary hyperventilation (VH) where patients are typically instructed to breathe faster than normal for a certain period of time
Management
Breathing into a paper bag
