Blood pH, O2, and CO2 tensions in exercised control and emphysematous horses

Abstract

Horses with clinical signs of spontaneous pulmonary emphysema were demonstrated to have blood-oxygen tensions significantly lower than those of control horses before exercise and declining further with exercise. The pHa of these horses was significantly lower than that of the control horses following exercise, but no difference could be demonstrated in the carbon dioxide tensions of the two groups. The diseased horses showed severe dyspnea with moderate exercise whereas control horses showed few signs of fatigue. The response to exercise of the emphysematous horses varied and probably depended upon the degree and extent of pulmonary pathology present.