Effect of arterial carbon dioxide on ventilation during recovery from impulse exercises of various intensities

To determine that whether arterial carbon dioxide (PaCO2) affects ventilation (VE) during recovery from impulse-like exercises of various intensities, subjects performed four impulse-like tests with different workloads. Each test consisted of a 20-sec impulse-like exercise at 80 rpm and 60-min recovery. Blood samples were collected at rest and during recovery to measure blood ions and gases. VE was measured continuously during rest, exercise and recovery periods. A significant curvilinear relationship was observed between VE and pH during recovery from the 300 and 400 watts tests in all subjects. VE was elevated during recovery from the 100 watts test despite no change in any of the humoral factors. Arterialized carbon dioxide (PaCO2) kinetics showed fluctuation, being increased at 1 min and decreased at 5 min during recovery, and this fluctuation was more enhanced with increase in exercise intensity. There was a significant relationship between VE and PaCO2 during recovery from the 300 and 400 watts tests in all subjects. The results of the present study demonstrate that pH and neural factors drive VE during recovery from impulse-like exercise and that fluctuation in PaCO2 controls VE as a feedback loop and this feedback function is more enhanced as the work intensity increases.