Jeffrey D. answered • 07/05/21
Helpful Medical Student for Your Science Problems
Respiratory alkalosis is a change in the body's pH typically due to hyperventilation or breathing fast. If you are hyperventilating the body will have a low PaCO2. CO2 in the blood is low because you are constantly expelling it through breaths. pH will be high (>7.4) because the CO2 functions as an acid.
So if you draw out the bicarb buffer equation for the body CO2 + H2O <--> H2CO3 <--> HCO3- + H; the equation has to be balanced. If CO2 is low the body compensates to bring to achieve a physiologic pH of 7.4. So what happens is the kidneys secrete less H+ to "hold" onto more acid and releases less bicarbonate
