ABSTRACT
The increase in ventilation during exercise is driven by the same requirements as the cardiac response, the need to avoid an acidic shift in the pH of the blood. Aerobic metabolism produces CO2, which can directly and indirectly affect pH. Additional metabolic acidosis accompanies lactic acid formation. Ventilation must therefore increase to eliminate metabolic CO2 and transform lactic acid into glucose. A failure to do so results in respiratory acidosis of the blood and body fluids (Wasserman et al., 1999).
