For people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and other chronic lung diseases, keeping a close eye on their blood oxygen level is often part of the daily routine. However, for people living with COPD and other chronic lung conditions, receiving enough oxygen can be challenging. Every cell, organ and tissue in your body needs adequate oxygen, so oxygen is essential to a properly functioning body. When your body doesn’t receive enough oxygen, it’s unable to function properly. We’re here to help you better understand your blood oxygen level, how your body gets oxygen and what it could mean for you.
Sep 27, 2019 Normal: A normal ABG oxygen level for healthy lungs falls between 80 and 100 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). If a pulse ox measured your blood oxygen level (SpO2), a normal reading is typically. Normal: A normal ABG oxygen level for healthy lungs falls between 80 and 100 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). If a pulse ox measured your blood oxygen level (SpO2), a normal reading is typically.
Oxygen and the Body
Your body uses oxygen in various ways to keep you at your best. Your blood transports oxygen throughout your body. Your body contains many different types of blood vessels, which act as the road system for your blood to travel throughout your body. Oxygen-rich blood travels through arteries and arterial branches to deliver oxygen and essential nutrients to your body. Capillaries are small, thin blood vessels that connect arteries and veins. Capillaries are important because they allow oxygen, nutrients, carbon dioxide and waste to pass to and from the tissue’s cells. Oxygen-poor blood travels through veins back to the heart and lungs where it will be re-oxygenated.
Your heart and lungs work together to deliver oxygen to your body, and your lungs inhale oxygen-rich air and exhale carbon dioxide. The heart pumps your blood to your lungs, so your blood can become oxygenated. Then, your heart pumps the oxygenated blood through your arteries and sends your blood to deliver oxygen to other cells, organs and tissues in your body.
How Your Heart and Lungs Deliver Oxygen Step-by-Step
Your heart has four chambers and four valves, which work to pump blood throughout your body. Your lungs and linked blood vessels deliver oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. The bronchi inside the lungs branch into smaller, thinner tubes called bronchioles. These tubes end in bunches of tiny, round air sacs called alveoli. Alveoli are covered in capillaries, and these capillaries connect to a network of veins and arteries.
The pulmonary artery and its branches deliver oxygen-poor blood to the capillaries that surround the air sacs. Once inside the air sacs, carbon dioxide moves from the blood and into the air to be exhaled while oxygen moves from inhaled air into the capillaries. Oxygen-rich blood then travels to the heart through the pulmonary vein and its branches, and on to the rest of the body.
Here’s How Oxygen Is Moved Through the Heart and Lungs to the Body:
A healthy, normal blood oxygen level remains around 95 percent to 100 percent. You can monitor your blood oxygen level at home with a pulse oximeter. Values below 90 percent are considered low.
When your body doesn’t receive enough oxygen and you have a low blood oxygen level, hypoxemia or hypoxia, cyanosis and other conditions may occur. Because COPD and other chronic lung diseases restrict or obstruct normal breathing, low blood oxygen levels can be a serious issue. Hypoxemia or hypoxia occurs when your body has insufficient oxygen and can range from mild to severe. Symptoms of hypoxia can include severe shortness of breath, wheezing, constant coughing, a choking feeling and a bluish discoloration of the skin (cyanosis).
Chronic hypoxia can lead to cerebral hypoxia or brain hypoxia, which means that your brain cells could become seriously damaged within minutes.
If you suspect hypoxia call your doctor immediately. For cerebral hypoxia, call 911.
Improve Your Blood Oxygen Level
Normal Oxygen Levels For Elderly
Many doctors will prescribe oxygen therapy to help you receive enough oxygen and to improve your blood oxygen levels. Your doctor may also prescribe breathing exercises, diet and exercise changes, pulmonary rehabilitation and medications to help you breathe. Keeping a close eye on your blood oxygen level is important as well. Remember to see your doctor regularly even if you’re feeling well, so you and your doctor can work together.
In combination with traditional treatments, many people with COPD and other chronic lung diseases have seen improvements to their pulmonary function after cellular therapy. A relatively new treatment, cellular therapy works to promote healing from within the lungs, potentially improving lung function. In fact, many patients report coming off or significantly reducing their oxygen therapy use after treatment. If you or a loved one has COPD, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis or another chronic lung disease and would like to learn more about your options, contact us at the Lung Health Institute at (855) 621-1526.
The normal oxygen saturation level is 97–100% (OER #1).
Older adults typically have lower oxygen saturation levels than younger adults. For example, someone older than 70 years of age may have an oxygen saturation level of about 95%, which is an acceptable level.
Blood Oxygen Level Of 70
It is important to note that the oxygen saturation level varies considerably based on a person’s state of health. Thus, it is important to understand both baseline readings and underlying physiology associated with certain conditions to interpret oxygen saturation levels and changes in these levels.
- People who are obese and/or have conditions such as lung and cardiovascular diseases, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congenital heart disease and sleep apnea tend to have lower oxygen saturation levels.
- Smoking can influence the accuracy of pulse oximetry in which the the SpO2 is low or falsely high depending on whether hypercapnia is present. With hypercapnia, it is difficult for the pulse oximeter to differentiate oxygen in the blood from carbon monoxide (caused by smoking).
- Oxygen saturation levels may decrease slightly when a person is talking.
- Oxygen saturation may remain normal (e.g., 97% and higher) for people with anemia. However, this may not indicate adequate oxygenation because there are less hemoglobin to carry an adequate supply of oxygen for people who have anemia. The inadequate supply of oxygen may be more prominent during activity for people with anemia.
- Falsely low oxygen saturation levels may be associated with hypothermia, decreased peripheral perfusion, and cold extremities. In these cases, an ear lobe pulse oximeter device or arterial blood gases would provide a more accurate oxygen saturation level. However, arterial blood gases are usually only taken in critical care or emergency settings.
Points to Consider
In practice, the SpO2 range of 92–100% is generally acceptable for most clients. Some experts have suggested that a SpO2 level of at least 90% will prevent hypoxic tissue injury and ensure client safety (Beasley, et al., 2016).
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Part of this content was adapted from OER #1 (as noted in brackets above):
© 2015 British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care by Glynda Rees Doyle and Jodie Anita McCutcheon, British Columbia Institute of Technology. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Download this book for free at http://open.bccampus.ca