Effects of Differences of Oxygen Affinity on Circulatory Response to Hypoxia

Abstract

It is well known that tissue hypoxia is an important prognostic predictor in patients with respiratory failure especially in acute exacerbation. It can occur for a number of reasons such as hypoxemia, peripheral circulatory disturbance, malfunction of the hemoglobin, and disturbance of oxygen supply to the tissue. Compensatory responses to acute hypoxia occur in various organs and the magnitude of such response is also an important factor in prognosis. In the circulatory system, cardiac blood flow and output together with heart rate and systemic blood pressure, all increase although the magnitude of these responses may be affected by age, the nature of the disease, severity, and so on. Whether differences in oxygen supply to the tissue under stable conditions affect the magnitude of response is as yet unknown.