Hypoxemia is a disease which affects your lungs or heart and means that you lack oxygen in your blood. This disease occurs when the oxygen levels in your blood are lower than normal and might cause shortness of breath and headaches. What’s more, it can even negatively affect your brain and heart function and cause pulmonary fibrosis or COPD.

Your cells need oxygen, which is carried through the blood, to be healthy. If this disease triggers low oxygen levels in your body’s tissues, then it’s known as hypoxia. These two terms, hypoxemia and hypoxia, aren’t the same besides the fact that many people use them interchangeably.

Hypoxemia can be determined either by measuring the oxygen level in a blood sample which comes from an artery, or by measuring the oxygen saturation of your blood with the use of a pulse oximeter. A pulse oximeter is a small device which clipsontoa finger or a wrist. The normal arterial oxygen is approximately 75 to 100 millimeters of mercury. So, if the values are below 60 mm Hg, the patient needs supplemental oxygen. On the other hand, the normal value for the pulse oximeter from 95 to 100 percent. Thus, values below 90 percent are lower than the normal values.

Symptoms of Hypoxemia

Many people wonder what happens when you deal with hypoxemia and thus, we decided to clarify that for you. So, when there is too little oxygen in your blood, your body lacks oxygen and as a result, your heart and other organs fail to work properly. Therefore, you might experience various different symptoms, such as dizziness, confusion, shortness of breath, and exhaustion. The symptoms you’re likely to experience depending on the severity of the condition. Hence, you might also experience wheezing, coughing, and fast heartbeat.

What Causes Hypoxemia?

There are myriad of reasons why your body delivers lower levels of oxygen to the blood than normal. Some of the most common causes of hypoxemia are being at high altitudes, sleep apnea, pain medications, lung conditions (bronchitis or asthma), heart conditions and defects, and pulmonary fibrosis.

How to Diagnose Hypoxemia?

In order to diagnose hypoxemia, you should see your doctor. Your physician will do a physical examination to listen to your heart and lungs. Low blood oxygen causes abnormalities in these organs. Likewise, there are several other tests your doctor might use to diagnose hypoxemia, such asarterial blood gas test, breathing tests, or pulse oximetry.

Treatment of Hypoxemia

After diagnosing hypoxemia, your doctor will have to find out the cause behind this disease. Thus, treating the actual cause will help you with hypoxemia. So, if you deal with mild hypoxemia, you might be required to use a mask or nasal cannula. On the other hand, if you’re facing a severe hypoxemia, you will be given a breathing tube put into your windpipe. The breathing tube is attached to a machine, known as a ventilator, which pushes air into your lungs. Dealing with long-term problem hypoxemia will mean that you will have to use oxygen regularly.

Oximetry Testing Service

If you’re looking for a place for oximetry testing, look no further! VirtuOx, Inc. conducts Overnight Oximetry tests for the purposes of home oxygen qualification. As CMS requires all claims for home oxygen therapy to be supported by valid qualifying test results, VirtuOx is your right pick. VirtuOx has developed a web-based communication software which allows DME providers to be the courier of the oximetry testing devices (oximeters) to and from the patient’s home.

Then, the DME provider connects the oximeter to their PC and uploads the test data to VirtuOx’s HIPAA compliant servers. The software application creates a detailed report that is faxed to the patient's treating physician, who may then order home oxygen.

Oximetry tests may only be performed after a written physician’s order has been received by VirtuOx and the DME receives a copy of the report once VirtuOx confirms receipt of the patient signed Assignment of Benefits form.