What Oxygen Saturation Levels Mean for Survival

When a person breathes in oxygen from air, it goes into the lungs. Red blood cells in the blood bind to oxygen in the lungs, then the heart pumps this oxygen rich blood through out the body. Oxygen saturation is the amount of oxygen in the blood and oxygen is necessary for survival.

Normal Levels

• Normal oxygen saturation levels lie between 95 and 100 percent. At this point, a person has enough oxygen in his or her blood to power the different organs and tissues that make the body work. Adequate oxygen saturation levels keeps a person alive.

Low Levels

• A person with low oxygen saturation levels has inadequate amounts of oxygen in his or her blood stream. In this condition, the organs in the body like the heart are not getting enough oxygen needed for them to keep working. Such a person may experience fatigue or a heart attack.

Considerations

• People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—also known as COPD—cannot breathe adequately when they have normal oxygen saturation levels. In order for them to stay alive, they need to have low oxygen saturation levels, because this is what gives them the impulse to breathe.

Physiological Factors

• Certain diseases or conditions affect a person's oxygen saturation levels. Conditions that cause a reduction in red blood cells like anemia, excessive bleeding or severe dehydration can lower a persons oxygen saturation level. Surviving a situation like this involves interventions that will raise oxygen saturation levels. Other physiological factors to consider are heart disease and neuromuscular diseases.

Lifestyle

• A person's lifestyle can affect his or her oxygen saturation levels. Inadequate nutrition can lead to muscle wasting causing inhibited breathing which can lead to low oxygen saturation levels. Other lifestyle factors that can reduce oxygen saturation levels are obesity, smoking and stress.