altered breathing patterns

Examples of altered breathing patterns in the following topics:

• Breathing Patterns

  • Breathing patterns refer to the respiratory rate, which is defined as the frequency of breaths over a period of time, as well as the amount of air cycled during breathing (tidal volume).
  • Breathing patterns are an important diagnostic criteria for many diseases, including some which involve more than the respiratory system itself.
  • Some of the more common terms for altered breathing patterns include:
  • These terms all describe an altered breathing pattern through increased or decreased (or stopped) tidal volume or respiratory rate.
  • It is important to distinguish these terms from hyperventilation and hypoventilation, which refer to abnormalities in alveolar gas exchange (and thus blood pH) instead of an altered breathing pattern, but they may be associated with an altered breathing pattern.

• Aging and the Respiratory System

  • In mammals, breathing in is due to a flattening of the diaphragm and lung expansion.
  • This is a quiet, relaxed breathing state, requiring little energy.
  • Speech depends on the balance between the two forms of breathing.
  • In humans, conscious change often modifies autonomous reaction to need, a pattern that can vary due to things like fear or anxiety, loss of lung elasticity (due to aging), pulmonary diseases such as emphysema , or abdominal expansion from obesity.
  • Describe the alterations to the respiratory system that occur with aging

• Hallucinogens

  • Hallucinogens are drugs that alter sensory input to the brain.
  • This creates an altered sense of reality, as well as a change in emotions and thought patterns.
  • Many dissociatives are strong depressants, and large doses can slow down the heart or breathing to the point of causing death.
  • They are mainly used as recreational drugs, whose effects include euphoria, altered thinking processes, closed- and open-eye visuals, synesthesia, an altered sense of time, and spiritual experiences.
  • LSD causes a number of alterations in perception by affecting both cognitive and visual sensory systems, and it changes the sense of time, body-image, and ego.

• Regulation of H+ by the Lungs

  • Acid-base imbalances in blood pH can be altered by changes in breathing to expel more CO2, which will raise pH back to normal.
  • This alters the concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood, shifting the above reaction according to Le Chatelier's principle, which in turn alters the pH.
  • When blood pH drops too low (acidemia), the body compensates by increasing breathing thereby expelling CO2, shifting the above reaction to the left such that less hydrogen ions are free; thus the pH will rise back to normal.
  • When blood pH drops too low, the body compensates by increasing breathing to expel more carbon dioxide.

• The Work of Breathing

  • Breathing includes several components, including flow-resistive and elastic work; surfactant production; and lung resistance and compliance.
  • The number of breaths per minute is the respiratory rate; under non-exertion conditions, the human respiratory rate averages around 12–15 breaths/minute.
  • There are two ways to keep the alveolar ventilation constant: increase the respiratory rate while decreasing the tidal volume of air per breath (shallow breathing), or decrease the respiratory rate while increasing the tidal volume per breath.
  • A change in either can dramatically alter breathing and the ability to take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
  • They breathe at a very high lung volume to compensate for the lack of airway recruitment.

• Absorption of Alcohol

  • Post-operative gastric bypass patients develop a lowered tolerance for alcoholic beverages because their altered digestive tract absorbs alcohol at a faster rate than people who have not undergone the surgery.
  • In a study conducted on 36 post-operative patients and a control group of 36 subjects (who had not undergone surgery), each subject drank a 5 oz. glass of red wine and had the alcohol in their breath measured to evaluate alcohol metabolism.
  • It took on average 108 minutes for the gastric bypass patients group to return to an alcohol breath of zero, while it took the control group an average of 72 minutes.
  • The remainder of the alcohol is eliminated through excretion in breath, urine, sweat, feces, milk and saliva.
  • Combining the reports of quantity and frequency of alcohol intake, a consumption pattern that reflected frequent intake (5-7 days/week) of any given amount of alcohol was associated with a decreased risk, as compared with nondrinkers.

• Adjustments of the Infant at Birth

  • Perfusing its body by breathing independently instead of utilizing placental oxygen is the first challenge of a newborn.
  • This triggers it to take the first breath within about 10 seconds of delivery.
  • This change in the pattern of flow results in a drop in blood flow across the ductus arteriosus.
  • All of these cardiovascular system changes result in the adaptation from fetal circulation patterns to an adult circulation pattern.
  • At this point, rhythmic breathing movements also commence.

• Neural Mechanisms (Respiratory Center)

  • The medulla and the pons are involved in the regulation of the ventilatory pattern of respiration.
  • Breathing is required to sustain life, so involuntary respiration allows it to happen when voluntary respiration is not possible, such as during sleep.
  • Its main function is to send signals to the muscles that control respiration to cause breathing to occur.
  • The apneustic center sends signals for inspiration for long and deep breaths.
  • It controls the intensity of breathing and is inhibited by the stretch receptors of the pulmonary muscles at maximum depth of inspiration, or by signals from the pnuemotaxic center.

• Reticular Formation

  • Other motor nuclei include gaze centers, which enable the eyes to track and fixate objects, and central pattern generators, which produce rhythmic signals to the muscles of breathing and swallowing.
  • Mass lesions in the brainstem cause severe alterations in the level of consciousness (such as coma) because of their effects on the reticular formation.

• Meditation

  • Meditation is the practice of training the mind in order to induce relaxation or an altered mode of consciousness.
  • Different meditation techniques include meditation of breath, devotional meditation, and relaxation meditation.
  • Meditation of breath can be described as the most traditional form of meditation, in which a person sits comfortably and focuses on his or her breath entering and leaving the body.
  • Devotional meditation is very similar to meditation of breath, except instead of focusing on the breath entering and leaving a person's body, the focus is on a particular object or concept.