What mechanism would be primarily affected by the anxiety of a patient leading to respiratory alkalosis?

The mechanism primarily affected by the anxiety of a patient that leads to respiratory alkalosis is the ventilation rate. When a person experiences anxiety, it often triggers hyperventilation, where the individual breathes more rapidly and deeply than normal. This increased ventilation expels carbon dioxide (CO2) from the body at a greater rate than it can be produced.

As CO2 levels drop, the blood becomes less acidic, leading to a higher pH, which is the defining characteristic of respiratory alkalosis. Thus, anxiety-induced hyperventilation results directly in this condition due to the changes in ventilation rate.

In contrast, changes in metabolic pathways, cardiac output, or oxygen transport are not the primary factors in this situation since respiratory alkalosis is fundamentally a respiratory problem rather than a metabolic or circulatory one. Therefore, understanding the relationship between anxiety-induced hyperventilation and its effect on CO2 levels helps clarify why the ventilation rate is the key mechanism involved in respiratory alkalosis.