Ventilatory and occlusion pressure response to CO2 and hypoxia with resistive loads

Steady-state responses to hyperoxic hypercapnia and eucapnic hypoxia were measured both as minute ventilation (VE) and as inspiratory mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1) with and without 25 cm H2O/I/s added resistance (R). Reduction in slope of the ventilatory response to CO2 with R was highly significant in all 3 subjects whereas the response to hypoxia was barely significantly reduced in 1 subject and not significantly decreased in two. Although P0.1 was higher with than without R under all conditions, the slope of the P0.1 response to CO2 with R was not increased in two subjects and only slightly increased in the third. The slope of the P0.1 response to hypoxia was significantly greater in all subjects with R. Expiratory reserve volume was increased with R but the change was the same with hypoxia and hypercapnia. We conclude that ventilation is better maintained with resistive loading during hypoxia than during hypercapnia and that this results from a greater force output of inspiratory muscles as reflected by a higher P0.1. This suggests a greater neural output to these muscles.