What Is Chronic Respiratory Failure?
You breathe approximately 20,000 times every day. This breathing wouldn’t be possible without the respiratory system, which is a collection of organs responsible for taking in oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide. When you inhale, you breathe in oxygen-rich air. The oxygen moves through your bloodstream and into the organs and tissues of your body. This oxygen is vital for maintaining essential body functions. When you exhale, you release carbon dioxide from your body. Carbon dioxide is a waste product that’s produced when the cells in your body break down sugar from the foods you eat. It’s important for carbon dioxide to be removed from your blood, as high levels of the gas can cause organ damage.

Respiratory failure can happen when your respiratory system is unable to remove carbon dioxide from the blood, causing it to build up in the body. The condition can also develop when your respiratory system can’t take in enough oxygen, leading to dangerously low levels of oxygen in the blood. Respiratory failure may be acute or chronic. Acute respiratory failure is a short-term condition. It occurs suddenly and is typically treated as a medical emergency. Chronic respiratory failure, however, is an ongoing condition. It gradually develops over time and requires long-term treatment.

I hope that answers your question Janet?

If you have COPD, watching your diet is important. Some, not all , people with COPD find that if they eat a carb-heavy meal (carbs break down into sugars), their breathing is difficult. Part of the problem is that it takes more O2 and energy to digest a heavy meal than a lighter one, and difficulty breathing or being SOB is due to a great build-up of CO2.

That said, consuming more or less sugar at any given time is not going o reduce the risk of respiratory failure if you have COPD.

@A MyCOPDTeam Member, so will it be correct to deduct that the less sugar and sugary foods we eat the less build up of carbon dioxide in our lungs?

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A MyCOPDT...

Ian's right in his first sentence. I would say that both COPD and chronic respiratory failure are the result of damage caused by smoking or other lung irritants and illnesses like pneumonia. Here's a good reference site: http://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-respir...

Basically, it's the chronic inability to get enough oxygen into the blood and/or the chronic inability to get enough carbon dioxide out. It's the result of the damage done to the lungs by diseases like COPD and pneumonia.