Hypoventilation: This is also referred to as respiratory depression and happens when air circulation is not adequate to achieve any needed exchange of gases. It causes an increased concentration of carbon dioxide known as hypercapnia as well as respiratory acidosis.

With hypoventilation the breathing is too slow, too shallow and doesn’t meet the body’s needs. It can also be known as reduced lung function.

If an individual hypoventilates, the body’s level of carbon dioxide will rise, causing oxygen that is too slight to meet the body’s needs.

Hypoventilation can be a serious problem when combined with certain other condition – for example sleep apnea. If a person is awake, their body will compensate for the hypoventilation before too much carbon dioxide builds up in the system. But when asleep and breathing is too shallow or forcibly shuts down or slows and breathing only in spurts and this may lead to dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood and even lead to death in cases that are more serious.