What Causes Metabolic Alkalosis?

Intense Exercise

An individual who exercises intensively can cause their body to go into a state of alkalosis when they experience an excessive increase in respiration rate. Increased respiration to an extreme degree can cause the blood to lose too much carbon dioxide, which results in a reduced quantity of hydrogen ions in the blood. The decrease in hydrogen concentration causes the pH of the blood to increase or alkalosis. Some individuals who engage in intense exercise and physical activities may develop a condition referred to as respiratory acidosis. Intense exercise usually only causes an individual with an underlying lung condition to experience this acid-base imbalance. When someone experiences this exercise-induced respiratory acidosis, their kidneys kick into action with a mechanism to mediate the condition. The kidneys in an affected individual secrete chloride and reabsorb bicarbonate. If this compensatory mechanism is overdone or aided by medical treatment, the patient can progress into metabolic alkalosis as a result.

Keep reading to learn more about the causes linked to metabolic alkalosis now.