Asphyxia
LIFE-THREATENING DISORDERA condition of insufficient oxygen and accumulating carbon dioxide in the blood and tissues due to interference with respiration, asphyxia results in cardiopulmonary arrest. Without prompt treatment, it’s fatal.
Causes
Asphyxia results from any condition or substance that inhibits respiration:
hypoventilation as a result of narcotic abuse, medullary disease or hemorrhage, pneumothorax, respiratory muscle paralysis, or cardiopulmonary arrest
intrapulmonary obstruction, as in airway obstruction, severe asthma, foreign-body aspiration, pulmonary edema, pneumonia, and near drowning
extrapulmonary obstruction, as in tracheal compression from a tumor, strangulation, trauma, or suffocation
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