Summary
During and after two successive incremental cycle ergometer tests (tests A and B), plasma potassium concentration ([K+]p), plasma pH (pHp), plasma partial pressure of carbon dioxide, blood lactate concentration ([Lac−]b) and ventilation (VE) were measured. While there was a good correlation between the increase in [K+]p and VE or pHp, respectively, in test A, in test B a close correlation was found only between the increase in VE and [K+]p (r>0.9 for nearly all single cases; r was 0.84 and 0.89 for all (pooled) cases in tests A and B, respectively; the correlation coefficients between changes in pHp and VE in tests A and B were r=0.74 and r=0.28, respectively, and r=0.89 and r=0.10 between the changes in [Lac−]b and VE in tests A and B). The close relationship for individuals between VE and [K+]p in tests A and B supported the hypothesis that the extracellular increase in [K+] may contribute to the ventilatory drive during exercise. The comparison of the results of tests A and B further indicated that the relationship between pHp and VE was dependent on the experimental design, and that pHp and VE changes are unlikely to be cause and effect.
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The study was carried out in the Centre of Physiology, Department of Sports- and Exercise Physiology, Medical School, W-3000 Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany
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Busse, M.W., Scholz, J., Saxler, F. et al. Relationship between plasma potassium and ventilation during successive periods of exercise in men. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 64, 22–25 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376434
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376434