Homepage: Norms, rates, CP and body oxygenation
Buteyko Table of Health Zones
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Health state |
Type of breathing | Degree | Pulse | Rf | % CO2 | AP | CP | MP |
| Super-health | Shallow | 5 | 48 | 3 | 7.5 | 16 | 180 | 210 |
| 4 | 50 | 4 | 7.4 | 12 | 150 | 190 | ||
| 3 | 52 | 5 | 7.3 | 9 | 120 | 170 | ||
| 2 | 55 | 6 | 7.1 | 7 | 100 | 150 | ||
| 1 | 57 | 7 | 6.8 | 5 | 80 | 120 | ||
| Normal | Normal | - | 60 | 8 | 6.5 | 4 | 60 | 90 |
| Disease | Deep | -1 | 65 | 10 | 6.0 | 3 | 50 | 75 |
| -2 | 70 | 12 | 5.5 | 2 | 40 | 60 | ||
| -3 | 75 | 15 | 5.0 | - | 30 | 50 | ||
| -4 | 80 | 20 | 4.5 | - | 20 | 40 | ||
| -5 | 90 | 26 | 4.0 | - | 10 | 20 | ||
| -6 | 100 | 30 | 3.5 | - | 5 | 10 |
Comments on Buteyko Table of Health Zones. Pulse – heart rate in 1 minute; Rf – respiratory frequency in one minute (number of inhalations or exhalations); % CO2 - %CO2 in alveoli of the lungs (*or arterial blood if there is no mismatch); AP - the Automatic Pause or natural delay in breathing after exhalation (*during unconscious breathing); CP - the Control Pause, breath holding time after usual exhalation and until first distress); MP (the Maximum Pause, breath holding time after usual exhalation and as long as possible).
This table is based on Buteyko KP, The method of volitional elimination of deep breathing [Translation of the Small Buteyko Manual], Voskresensk, 1994.
* Note about pulse. Not all people with low CPs (less than 20 s) have a greatly increased heart rate, as is given by this table. Some categories of people with less than 20 s CP can have a resting pulse of around 60 – 70 beats per minute. However, increased heart rate for lower CPs is the feature of, for example, heart patients and patients with severe asthma. During the 1960's, when conducting his research, and later, Buteyko and his colleagues applied the Buteyko breathing retraining program mainly for heart and asthma patients, who were mostly hospitalized with frequent deficiencies in blood cortisol levels. This explains the increased heart rates provided by the Table.
Introduction
Dr. Buteyko developed this table during 1960s, after analyzing hundreds of sick and healthy people in his respiratory laboratory, and presented it during his Lecture for the leading scientists at the Moscow State University in 1969. The Table reflects the health of his numerous hospitalized and severely sick patients, who started their journey for health at the very bottom of the table and climbed up, sometimes to the very top of the table.
The middle row of the table corresponds to normal health. Below this row are 7 zones corresponding to disease. The borders for these zones are given by 7 rows (from normal down to "minus 6-th" degree). Five zones of super-health are above the middle row. Let us start from the very bottom of this table and then climb up.
Terminally sick and critically ill patients during acute stages
The lowest row of this table corresponds to severely sick and terminally ill patients in critical conditions. When people are at the risk of dying, the table predicts over 100 beats per minute for their heart rate, over 30 breaths per minute for respiratory frequency, less than 3.5% CO2 in the alveoli of the lungs. The CP (Control Pause or stress-free breath holding time after usual exhalation) is less than 5 s.
Terminally sick and critically ill patients in more stable conditions
The next row from the bottom corresponds to severely sick and terminally ill patients in stable conditions. Typical heart rates of such people are above 90 beats per minute (sitting at rest). Respiratory rate (or breathing frequency) is above 26 breaths per minute at rest. A CO2 concentration in alveoli of the lungs is no more than 4%. There is no automatic pause (period of no breathing after exhalation). The Control Pause is less than 10 s, while the Maximum Pause is less than 20 s. (Numerous medical studies confirmed that over 90% patients with chronic diseases indeed die in conditions of severe hyperventilation, while their heart rate and respiratory frequency become much higher than the norms. Quotes and exact numbers from such studies can be found on my website in relation to heart disease, asthma, cancer, and many other conditions.)
These patients usually require numerous types of medication to prevent their multiple symptoms and complaints. Walking is hard and climbing stairs, due to heavy labored breathing, dyspnea, and low body oxygenation, is often impossible. Most of the time is spent in bed, since even sitting requires effort.
Sleep is dreadful since breathing and symptoms get much worse after transition into a horizontal position. Early morning hours (4-7 am) is the time when these patients are most likely to die from heart attack, stoke, asthma attack, or complications from cancer, diabetes, and many other pathologies.
Patients with moderate degree of their disease
The next row (“minus 4-th” degree of health) corresponds to patients whose life is not threatened at the moment, but their main concern are symptoms. People with mild asthma, heart disease, diabetes, 1 and 2 stages of cancer, and many other chronic disorders are all in this zone. Taking medication is the normal feature for most of these people.
As we see from the table, heart rate for these patients varies from 80 to 90 beats per minute. Breathing frequency is between 20 and 26 breaths per minute (the medical norm is 12, while doctor Buteyko’s norm is 8 breaths per minute at rest). CO2 concentration in alveoli of the lungs is between 4.0 and 4.5%. The CP is between 10 and 20 s.
Physical exercise is very hard, since even fast walking results in very heavy breathing through the mouth, exhaustion, and worsening of symptoms. Complains about fatigue are normal. All these symptoms are often so debilitating that they interfere with normal life and ability to work, analyze information, care about others, etc. Living in the chronic state of stress and being preoccupied with own miserable health are normal, while efficiency and performance in various areas (science, arts, sports, etc.) are compromised. Sitting in armchairs or soft couches is the most favorite posture.
Parameters of these people get worse during early morning hours with corresponding worsening of symptoms. Many sufferers get less than 10 s for morning CP with all effects accompanying the last stage of the disease.
Most modern people
Most modern healthy people have between 20 and 30 s CP. Hence, they are going to be in the third row from the bottom (“minus 3-rd” degree of health). While there is no need for taking medication in this zone, numerous health pathologies are frequent. This relates to gastrointestinal disorders (gastritis, IBS, IBD, etc.), musculoskeletal problems (arthritis, osteoporosis, etc.), hormonal and metabolic problems (mild obesity, light diabetes), initial stages of cancer, and many others.
Standing for many hours is hard and they prefer to sit for most part of the day. Physical performance after meals is very poor since respiratory and cardiovascular parameters can shift to the lower zone. Level of energy and physical desire to work are low. The over-excited brain easily invents excuses for laziness.
Morning parameters are much worse (less than 20 s CP) with all effects that present for this zone.
Normal health (official medical norms)
As we continue to climb up the table, the next row corresponds to the norms. The row “minus 2” reflects international norms for breathing: breathing frequency of 12 breaths per minute; 5.5 % for CO2 concentrations in the alveoli of the lungs (about 41 mm Hg); 40 s CP and 70 beats per minute for heart rate. People with normal health naturally have so called “automatic pause” or period of no breathing (total relaxation of all respiratory muscles after each exhalation) during their unconscious breathing. The duration of the automatic pause is 2 seconds.
People with normal health and able to run with strictly nasal breathing, safely take a cold shower (if they follow certain other rules), have good quality of sleep, and are reasonably able to function on the social level (family, community, workplace, etc.).
Buteyko norms
Dr. Buteyko suggested his own standards for health so that one can be free from about 200 chronic conditions. As we see in the table, healthy people should have breathing frequency no more than 8 breaths per minute at rest, more than 60 s CP, over 6.5% CO2, less than 60 beats per min for heart rate, and at least 4 s for automatic pause.
At this stage people enjoy and even crave physical activity. They are full of energy (when they have a normal blood glucose level). Standing throughout the day is easy and natural. Sleep is less than 5 hours and early morning parameters are not worse than evening ones.
All tissues of the body are histologically normal (or in accordance with medical books), while chronic disorders are impossible.
Stages that corresponds to super-health
Buteyko also identified 5 stages that correspond to super-health. Transition to the next row above the norm triggers certain biochemical processes and the appearance of lost abilities of the human body, including ability to digest wider varieties of fibers, painless childbirth, production of antibodies in saliva that prevent cavities and the formation of plague (no need to visit dentists 1-2 times every year), and some other effects.
Buteyko generalized this table to a wide variety of conditions (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, asthma, and many others). He considered this table as an important discovery since he applied for a patent. His patent application is provided below.
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(54)METHOD OF ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN HEALTH (57) Abstract: 1. The method of assessing human health, including the definition of the parameters of functional systems and the calculation of health indicators based on the above parameters other than those that form the contingent of the surveyed people who determine the parameter information by measuring the breath holding time of the person after a usual exhalation before the first inhalation without following disturbances in breathing, and then determine and record the basic parameters of main functional systems, and each of them is compared with the informational parameter of the investigated person and obtain the parameter, which is a marker of major functional systems and / or indicator of human health, create a method to assess health through establishment of the scale, while comparing the actual values of each parameter of health survey with the normal value, and based on the received data, health groups can be formed. 2. The method, according to Paragraph 1, but is different in that the scale of health has five categories with a positive sign that characterize the health status of people with different levels of super-endurance and seven categories with a negative sign, which characterize the state of poor health and / or disease in humans with varying degrees of disease severity. |
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