Physiological Adaptions to Acute Hypoxia

Abstract

When tissues are insufficiently supplied with oxygen, the environment is said to be hypoxic. Acute (exposures to) hypoxia can occur occupationally, within the scope of training and competitions or under pathological conditions. The increasing interest in acute exposure to altitude for training and research purposes makes it more important than ever to understand the physiological processes that occur under hypoxic conditions. Therefore, the scope of this chapter is to describe the main types of hypoxia on the oxygen cascade, to summarize the physiological consequences of acute hypoxia on the three main areas and to highlight the clinical consequences of acute hypoxia exposures for healthcare practitioners.