The clinical manifestation of many pulmonary and cardiac diseases is shortness of breath. It is expressed in disorders of depth and respiratory rate, which leads to a lack of air. Among the types of shortness of breath, there is bradypnea. That is rare breathing or with an insignificant increase in depth.
The main body function is breathing. Indeed, a person without air will live only a few minutes. Inhalation brings oxygen into the blood flow, exhalation – removes carbon dioxide. Blood carries an organogen necessary for life to all body cells.
The most demanding for oxygen organ is the brain. It dies 7–9 minutes after a person stops breathing. In such a situation, it is already impossible to help a person.
Why is bradypnea so dangerous?
In healthy people, the respiratory rate ranges from 12 to 20 in a minute. If breathing is calm, then a one-excursion averages 500-530 cm3 of air.
The frequency is slow if less than 11 respiratory cycles occur. To determine bradypnea, you should determine the respiratory pause, or rather its duration, that is, the ratio of the duration of inspiration to the duration of exhalation. Normally, this value should not exceed the limit of 1.2 seconds, in extreme cases – 1.5 seconds. If the indicators are higher, then the problem takes place. With bradypnea, the patient’s respiratory frequency decreases involuntarily.
This can be observed with hypocapnia, which occurs with mountain sickness.
The respiratory center is also depressed during prolonged hypoxia when a person is in a rarefied atmosphere. It can also be caused by heart failure, as well as inadequate blood circulation, brain damage, for example, cerebral hemorrhage.
The respiratory center does not work properly when acidic metabolic products are accumulated in the blood flow.
The symptoms of bradypnea are expressed in dizziness, impaired coordination, and weakness, confusion, even coma. The patient can rave, he has hallucinations.
In addition to decreasing respiratory movements, the acidity of the blood shifts. As a result, all body systems function with impairments.
There is also a physiological bradypnea. It manifests in professional athletes. It can be observed in healthy people during deep sleep. In such situations, it is important to restore normal breathing.
Rare breathing without pathological changes will not cause gas exchange problems, as the volume of pulmonary ventilation remains the same. However, bradypnea is the reason for deeper problems in the respiratory system.
Therefore, consult a doctor in any case. If the differences from the norm are severe, call an ambulance. A patient with periodic and persistent bradypnea is recommended to visit a neurologist.