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By Dr. Artour Rakhimov, Buteyko breathing teacher and educator

Breathing education
Part 1-B. BHT (breath holding time) test: index of tissue oxygenation

“If a person breath-holds after a normal exhalation,

it takes about 40 seconds before breathing commences”

From the textbook “Essentials of exercise physiology”

McArdle W.D., Katch F.I., Katch V.L. (2-nd edition);

Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, London 2000, p.252.
“If a person breath-holds after a normal exhalation,
it takes about 40 seconds before breathing commences”
From the textbook “Essentials of exercise physiology”
McArdle W.D., Katch F.I., Katch V.L. (2-nd edition);
Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, London 2000, p.252.

This table summarizes available western data regarding breath holding times for people with various health states. Note that the first study was conducted almost a century ago.

Types of people investigated	Number of subjects	BHT, seconds	Reference (click here for the list)
Fit instructors	22	46 s	Flack, 1919
Home defence pilots	24	49 s
British candidates	23	47 s
US candidates	7	45 s
Delivery and test pilots	27	39 s
Pilots training for scouts	15	42 s
Pilots taken off flying through stress		34 s
Normal subjects	30	23 s	Friedman, 1945
Neurocirculatory asthenia	54	16 s	Friedman, 1945
Normal subjects	22	33 s	Mirsky et al, 1946
Anxiety states	62	20 s	Mirsky et al, 1946
Normals and class 1 heart patients	16	16 s	Kohn & Cutcher, 1970
Class 2 and 3 heart patients	53	13 s
Pulmonary emphysema	3	8 s
Functional heart disease	13	5 s
Normal subjects	6	28 s	Davidson et al, 1974
Asymptomatic asthmatics	7	20 s	Davidson et al, 1974
Asthmatics with symptoms	13	11 s	Perez-Padilla et al, 1989
Normal subjects	14	25 s	Zandbergen et al, 1992
Panic attack	14	11 s
Anxiety disorders	14	16 s
Outpatients	25	17 s	Gay et al, 1994
Inpatients	25	10 s
COPD or CHF (congenital heart failure)	7	8 s
12 heavy smokers	12	8 s
Normal subjects	26	21 s	Asmudson & Stein, 1994
Panic disorder	23	16 s	Asmudson & Stein, 1994
Normal subjects	30	36 s	Taskar et al, 1995
Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome	30	20 s	Taskar et al, 1995
Normal subjects	76	25 s	McNally & Eke, 1996
Normal subjects	10	38 s	Flume et al, 1996
Successful lung transplantation	9	23 s
Successful heart transplantation	8	28 s
Normal subjects	31	29 s	Marks et al, 1997
Outpatients with COPD	87	8 s	Marks et al, 1997

Table 1.2 Breath holding time according to various medical references
(from the book: Normal breathing: the key to vital health by Dr. Artour Rakhimov)

Doctor Buteyko and his medical colleagues tested hundred thousands patients and found that the following relationships generally hold true:
1-10 s - severely sick, critically and terminally ill patients, usually hospitalized.
10-20 s - sick patients with numerous complaints and, often, on daily medication.
20-40 s - people with poor health, but often without serious organic problems.
40-60 s - good health.
Over 60 s - ideal health, when many modern diseases are virtually impossible.

My own practical experience with hundreds of people completely agrees with these findings.

Conclusion: The sicker we are, the shorter our breath holding time (the oxygenation index)

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