Oxygen as a vasoconstrictor: Can it cause more harm than good?

In this pandemic, hospitals and governments are investing in ventilators to provide relief to infected patients who are experiencing breathing difficulties. Paul M. Willette, M.D., an independent investigator studying the advancement of brain-body health connections, shares in his article "Pandemic Confusion" that too much oxygen might cause harm.

While oxygen treatment can significantly help improve a patient's condition during medical emergencies, it can cause harm in other situations. Numerous studies have shown that hyperoxia or the excess supply of oxygen in the body can put a patient at risk of oxygen toxicity.

As ventilators have become a common solution for patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19, Paul M. Willette, M.D., says that this machine should not be considered as oxygen therapy, but rather as a tool for preventing the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the lungs as well as to prevent acidosis in the tissues. For those who are suffering from respiratory diseases aside from COVID-19, supplementary oxygen can be helpful. However, as recent studies have shown, it can be a vasoconstrictor that narrows or constricts the blood vessels, causing a tightening in the blood vessel walls. Because of this, the opening to the blood vessels become smaller.

While some processes of vasoconstriction, such as regulating blood pressure, temperature, and the distribution of nutrition, are normal within the body, abnormal vasoconstriction can affect some processes leading to heart and brain complications. In his article, Dr. Willette points out that what many fail to understand is that too much oxygen in the context of infection, sepsis, and uncontrolled inflammation can lead to an increase of oxidative elements that might damage both virus and health tissues.

What he encourages people to consider is the two processes involved the use of oxygen in the body: oxygen delivery and oxygen utilization. While the delivery can help relieve patients of their difficulties in breathing, the focus should be more on utilizing the oxygen for respiration at the cellular level. The use of ventilators might not be addressing this concern that can spell the difference for a patient's recovery.

As CEO and founder of Global Health Science Solutions, LLC, Paul M. Willette, M.D., uses his skills as an independent investigator and author to incorporate biochemistry, cell biology and nutrition for the advancement of brain-body health connections in humans and animals around the globe. Visit this page for similar reads.