Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 56, Issue 4 1039-1044, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
CO2 rebreathing and exercise ventilatory responses in humans
S. M. Menitove, D. M. Rapoport, H. Epstein, B. Sorkin and R. M. Goldring
The relationship between the resting response to CO2 rebreathing and the
ventilatory response to CO2 production during exercise was examined in 20
healthy untrained male subjects and in six patients with obesity
hypoventilation syndrome. Patients were chosen because of a severely
reduced response to CO2 rebreathing. There was no correlation between the
CO2 rebreathing response and the exercise ventilatory response in the
normal subjects, the patients, or in the group considered as a whole. This
lack of correlation could not be accounted for by differences in
ventilatory and occlusion pressure responses nor by reporting responses as
a function of a change in hydrogen ion concentration. The independence of
the CO2 rebreathing response and the exercise ventilatory response suggests
the CO2 rebreathing response does not measure the relevant parameters of
ventilatory control during exercise.
