1. Health  Discuss in my forum  Definition of Hypercapnia
Updated February 27, 2009   Definition: Hypercapnia refers to an
increased amount of carbon dioxide, the waste product of
respiration, in the blood.  There are many causes of
hypercapnia, COPD being just one of them. Hypoventilation or
narcotic drug overdose are other common causes.  Patients who
have COPD have difficulty moving air into and out of the lungs.
This means it is also difficult for the lungs to exchange oxygen
for carbon dioxide, which is an essential part of the breathing
process. This can lead to low levels of oxygen in the blood,
(hypoxemia) and high levels of carbon dioxide (hypercapnia).
Also Known As: high carbon dioxide, increased carbon dioxide
levels Common Misspellings: hypercabnia, hyperkapnia Mr. Jones
went into respiratory failure due to hypercapnia and was
subsequently hospitalized.  ©2014 About.com. All rights
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