Breath Holding Time Results for Sick People: Low Body Oxygen
Medical and physiological research articles about BHT (breath holding
time test done after usual exhalation and only until initial discomfort) or CP (Control Pause
or Buteyko Control Pause - see the link to the test below), or body oxygen level in people
with chronic diseases.
On the graph below, the numbers of patients are provided in brackets. For example, "Hypertension (95)" means that 95 hypertension patients were studied. The body-oxygen level (breath holding time) for all groups of sick people was measured in seconds.
| Condition | Number of subjects |
Body Oxygen or Control Pause, s |
Reference |
| Hypertension | 95 | 12 s | Ayman et al, 1939 |
| Neurocirculatory asthenia | 54 | 16 s | Friedman, 1945 |
| Anxiety states | 62 | 20 s | Mirsky et al, 1946 |
| Class 1 heart patients | 16 | 16 s | Kohn & Cutcher, 1970 |
| Class 2-3 heart patients | 53 | 13 s | Kohn & Cutcher, 1970 |
| Pulmonary emphysema | 3 | 8 s | Kohn & Cutcher, 1970 |
| Functional heart disease | 13 | 5 s | Kohn & Cutcher, 1970 |
| Asymptomatic asthmatics | 7 | 20 s | Davidson et al, 1974 |
| Asthmatics with symptoms | 13 | 11 s | Perez-Padilla et al, 1989 |
| Panic attack | 14 | 11 s | Zandbergen et al, 1992 |
| Anxiety disorders | 14 | 16 s | Zandbergen et al, 1992 |
| Outpatients | 25 | 17 s | Gay et al, 1994 |
| Inpatients | 25 | 10 s | Gay et al, 1994 |
| COPD and congenital heart failure | 7 | 8 s | Gay et al, 1994 |
| 12 heavy smokers | 12 | 8 s | Gay et al, 1994 |
| Panic disorder | 23 | 16 s | Asmudson & Stein, 1994 |
| Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome | 30 | 20 s | Taskar et al, 1995 |
| Successful lung transplantation | 9 | 23 s | Flume et al, 1996 |
| Successful heart transplantation | 8 | 28 s | Flume et al, 1996 |
| Outpatients with COPD | 87 | 8 s | Marks et al, 1997 |
| Asthma | 55 | 14 s | Nannini et al, 2007 |
Again as before, breath holding can be done in different conditions (e.g.,
after normal inhalation, or exhalation, or after taking a very deep inhalation, or
after a
complete exhalation, until first stress or as long as possible). However, in
order to find body-oxygen levels in these sick people, it is logical to use
normal conditions: usual exhalation (or at functional residual capacity = volume
of air in the lungs at normal expiration) and stress-free version of the test
(no pushing the patient for better numbers and no gasping after the test). If you are interested in these details, visit
Body Oxygen Complete Table for
Sick People and see how these different tests were standardized.
These Control Pause values or body-oxygen levels for sick people can be compared with Normal Breath Holding Time - Control Pause in Healthy People.
Doctor Buteyko and his MDs tested thousands of patients
and found that the following relationships, in general, hold true in relation to
body-oxygen levels:
1-10 s - severely sick, terminally and critically ill patients, usually
hospitalized.
10-20 s - sick patients with numerous symptoms, complaints and, often, on daily
medication.
20-40 s - people with poor health (no major symptoms), often without serious organic problems.
40-60 s - good or normal health.
Over 60 s - ideal health, when many chronic diseases are virtually impossible.
My own practical experience with hundreds of Buteyko students, who were previously sick or very sick, and other people completely agrees with these findings.
Conclusion: Sick people have low body-oxygen levels and shorter breath holding time results due to heavy breathing (see the Homepage for modern average breathing rates).
References for Table 5 (CP in Sick People)
Reference pages: Breathing norms and medical facts:
-
Breathing
norms: Parameters, graph, and description of the normal
breathing pattern
- 6 breathing myths: Myths and superstitions about breathing
and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
- Hyperventilation: Definitions of
hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
- Hyperventilation syndrome:
Western scientific evidence about prevalence of chronic hyperventilation in patients with chronic conditions
(37 medical studies)
- Normal minute ventilation: Small and
slow
breathing at rest is enjoyed by healthy subjects (14 studies)
- Hyperventilation prevalence: Present in
over 90% of
normal people (24 medical studies)
- HV and hypoxia:
How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of
all vital organs
- Body-oxygen test (CP test)
: How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (two in one) using a simple DIY test
- Body oxygen in healthy:
Results for the body-oxygen test for healthy people (27 medical
studies)
- Body oxygen in sick
: Results for the body-oxygen test for sick people (14 medical studies)
- Buteyko
Table of Health Zones: Clinical description and ranges for breathing zones:
from the critically ill (severely sick) up to super healthy people
with maximum possible body oxygenation
- Morning hyperventilation: Why people feel
worse and critically ill people are most
likely to die during early morning hours
References: pages about CO2 effect:
- Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion
(or blood supply) to all vital organs
- The Bohr effect:
How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
- Cell oxygen levels: How alveolar CO2 influences
oxygen transport
- Oxygen transport: O2 transport is controlled by
vasoconstriction-vasodilation and the Bohr effects, both of which rely on CO2
- Free radical generation:
Reactive oxygen species are produced within cells due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia
- Inflammatory response: Chronic inflammation
in fueled by the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces
and eliminates inflammation
- Nerve stabilization: People remain calm due to calmative or
sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
- Muscle relaxation: Relaxation of muscle cells
is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture
and, sometimes, aggression and violence
- Bronchodilation: Dilation of
airways (bronchi and bronchioles) is caused by carbon dioxide, and their constriction
by hypocapnia (low CO2)
- Blood
pH: Regulation of blood pH due to breathing and regulation of other bodily fluids
- CO2: lung damage: Elevated carbon
dioxide prevents lung injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
- CO2: Topical carbon dioxide can heal skin and tissues
- Synthesis of glutamine
in the brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
- Deep breathing myth:
Ignorant and naive people promote the idea that deep breathing and breathing
more air at rest is beneficial for health
- Breathing control: How is our
breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven, irregular and erratic.
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