Which observation is typical during mild hypothermia?

Which observation is typical during mild hypothermia?

• A. Increased heart rate and respiratory rate
• B. Decreased heart rate
• C. Fever
• D. Normal vital signs

Answer: (A)

In mild hypothermia, the body's initial response to cold is to generate heat through shivering and to ramp up the sympathetic nervous system. That increased metabolic activity raises oxygen demand and cardiac output, so you commonly see the heart rate rise and the respiratory rate increase as the body tries to keep tissues warm. Fever isn’t produced by cold exposure, and normal vital signs would not reflect the active compensatory response happening with mild hypothermia. As cooling worsens, those signs can change—bradycardia and respiratory depression may appear in more severe stages—so the observed pattern of tachycardia and tachypnea best fits mild hypothermia.

In mild hypothermia, the body's initial response to cold is to generate heat through shivering and to ramp up the sympathetic nervous system. That increased metabolic activity raises oxygen demand and cardiac output, so you commonly see the heart rate rise and the respiratory rate increase as the body tries to keep tissues warm. Fever isn’t produced by cold exposure, and normal vital signs would not reflect the active compensatory response happening with mild hypothermia. As cooling worsens, those signs can change—bradycardia and respiratory depression may appear in more severe stages—so the observed pattern of tachycardia and tachypnea best fits mild hypothermia.