hypoxia means decreased oxygen supply or low tissue oxygen concentration.
The word "hypoxia" comes from the Greek "hypos" = little, scarce + "oxys", which indicates that the word is oxygen.
Types of Hypoxia
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Hypoxemic Hypoxia: Deficiencies of oxygen in arterial blood, due to a drop in alveolar oxygen partial pressure (PO2);
- Examples: altitude, asthma, pneumonia, COPD;
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Anemic Hypoxia: Deficiency in the blood's ability to transport oxygen from tissues;
- Examples: Causes: carbon monoxide (CO), nitrites, sulphates, among others.
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Stagnant Hypoxia: Circulatory Deficiency;
- Examples: heart failure, artery spasms, strokes, G forces, positive pressure breathing.
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Histotoxic Hypoxia: It occurs due to the action of toxins on respiratory enzymes;
- Examples: cyanide, alcohol and other toxic substances.
Hypoxia can cause several symptoms in the body, such as fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness, headache, euphoria, in addition to causing changes in touch, vision, judgment, reasoning, reaction time and motor coordination.
In the cells, hypoxia causes the mitochondria to lose their ability to produce ATP, thus preventing the cell from using its main means of obtaining energy. This lack of energy will lead to a series of metabolic and morphological cellular changes, which can result in cell death.