Word parts
What it means
Carbon dioxide builds up and the blood becomes acidic (respiratory acidosis); oxygen levels often fall too. Causes include opioids and sedatives, head injury, severe COPD, obesity, nerve and muscle diseases and pain that makes breathing shallow.
For the nurse
Check the rate, depth and level of consciousness in clients receiving opioids or sedatives. Report slow, shallow breathing or growing drowsiness, and encourage deep breathing and coughing after surgery.
Remember it
Hypo breathing keeps acid in; hyper breathing blows it off.
At a glance
| Spanish | hipoventilación |
|---|
Easy to confuse with
hyperventilation
Breathing faster or deeper than the body needs, so too much carbon dioxide is breathed out.
Related terms
opioid analgesic
A strong drug that relieves moderate to severe pain by acting on the brain and spinal cord.
hypo-
A word beginning that means under, below or less than normal.
arterial blood gas
A blood test from an artery that measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, bicarbonate and the blood's pH.
hyperventilation
Breathing faster or deeper than the body needs, so too much carbon dioxide is breathed out.