Potassium and ventilation during exercise above and below the ventilatory threshold

Increases in arterial plasma potassium during exercise may provide an important drive to ventilation. We examined the changes in arterialized venous plasma potassium concentration ([K +]av) and ventilation that occur during sustained exercise at workloads above and below the ventilatory threshold (Vt) in young health humans. After the onset of exercise at a workload below-Vt, [K +]av rose by 0.3 (+/- 0.1) mmol l-1 (mean +/- SEM). Following 30 min of exercise at this intensity [K +]av had fallen (P < 0.05, ANOVA) by an amount approximately equal to one third of the initial increase. While [K +]av fell, ventilation remained stable. At 5 min after the onset of sustained exercise above the Vt [K +]av had risen by 0.7 (+/- 0.1) mmol l-1 and thereafter remained constant. Ventilation slowly increased throughout the above-Vt protocol. These results show significant differences in the time course of the changes in [K +]av and ventilation. They do not support the hypothesis that changes in [K +]a during moderate exercise cause linearly related changes in ventilation.