The ins and outs of breath holding: simple demonstrations of complex respiratory physiology

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel J. Skow ◽  
Trevor A. Day ◽  
Jonathan E. Fuller ◽  
Christina D. Bruce ◽  
Craig D. Steinback

The physiology of breath holding is complex, and voluntary breath-hold duration is affected by many factors, including practice, psychology, respiratory chemoreflexes, and lung stretch. In this activity, we outline a number of simple laboratory activities or classroom demonstrations that illustrate the complexity of the integrative physiology behind breath-hold duration. These activities require minimal equipment and are easily adapted to small-group demonstrations or a larger-group inquiry format where students can design a protocol and collect and analyze data from their classmates. Specifically, breath-hold duration is measured during a number of maneuvers, including after end expiration, end inspiration, voluntary prior hyperventilation, and inspired hyperoxia. Further activities illustrate the potential contribution of chemoreflexes through rebreathing and repeated rebreathing after a maximum breath hold. The outcome measures resulting from each intervention are easily visualized and plotted and can comprise a comprehensive data set to illustrate and discuss complex and integrated cardiorespiratory physiology.

1984 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Hayward ◽  
C. Hay ◽  
B. R. Matthews ◽  
C. H. Overweel ◽  
D. D. Radford

To facilitate analysis of mechanisms involved in cold water near-drowning, maximum breath-hold duration (BHD) and diving bradycardia were measured in 160 humans who were submerged in water temperatures from 0 to 35 degrees C at 5 degrees C intervals. For sudden submersion BHD was dependent on water temperature (Tw) according to the equation BHD = 15.01 + 0.92Tw. In cold water (0–15 degrees C), BHD was greatly reduced, being 25–50% of the presubmersion duration. BHD after brief habituation to water temperature and mild, voluntary hyperventilation was more than double that of sudden submersion and was also dependent on water temperature according to the equation BHD = 38.90 + 1.70Tw. Minimum heart rate during both types of submersions (diving bradycardia) was independent of water temperature. The results are pertinent to accidental submersion in cold water and show that decreased breath-holding capacity caused by peripheral cold stimulation reduces the effectiveness of the dive response and facilitates drowning. These findings do not support the postulate that the dive response has an important role in the enhanced resuscitatibility associated with cold water near-drowning, thereby shifting emphasis to hypothermia as the mechanism for this phenomenon.


2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (7) ◽  
pp. 578-585
Author(s):  
Victory C. Madu ◽  
Heather Carnahan ◽  
Robert Brown ◽  
Kerri-Ann Ennis ◽  
Kaitlyn S. Tymko ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: This study was intended to determine the effect of skin cooling on breath-hold duration and predicted emergency air supply duration during immersion.METHODS: While wearing a helicopter transport suit with a dive mask, 12 subjects (29 ± 10 yr, 78 ± 14 kg, 177 ± 7 cm, 2 women) were studied in 8 and 20°C water. Subjects performed a maximum breath-hold, then breathed for 90 s (through a mouthpiece connected to room air) in five skin-exposure conditions. The first trial was out of water for Control (suit zipped, hood on, mask off). Four submersion conditions included exposure of the: Partial Face (hood and mask on); Face (hood on, mask off); Head (hood and mask off); and Whole Body (suit unzipped, hood and mask off).RESULTS: Decreasing temperature and increasing skin exposure reduced breath-hold time (to as low as 10 ± 4 s), generally increased minute ventilation (up to 40 ± 15 L · min−1), and decreased predicted endurance time (PET) of a 55-L helicopter underwater emergency breathing apparatus. In 8°C water, PET decreased from 2 min 39 s (Partial Face) to 1 min 11 s (Whole Body).CONCLUSION: The most significant factor increasing breath-hold and predicted survival time was zipping up the suit. Face masks and suit hoods increased thermal comfort. Therefore, wearing the suits zipped with hoods on and, if possible, donning the dive mask prior to crashing, may increase survivability. The results have important applications for the education and preparation of helicopter occupants. Thermal protective suits and dive masks should be provided.Madu VC, Carnahan H, Brown R, Ennis K-A, Tymko KS, Hurrie DMG, McDonald GK, Cornish SM, Giesbrecht GG. Skin cooling on breath-hold duration and predicted emergency air supply duration during immersion. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(7):578–585.


Author(s):  
A Salman Avestimehr ◽  
Seyed Mohammadreza Mousavi Kalan ◽  
Mahdi Soltanolkotabi

Abstract Dealing with the shear size and complexity of today’s massive data sets requires computational platforms that can analyze data in a parallelized and distributed fashion. A major bottleneck that arises in such modern distributed computing environments is that some of the worker nodes may run slow. These nodes a.k.a. stragglers can significantly slow down computation as the slowest node may dictate the overall computational time. A recent computational framework, called encoded optimization, creates redundancy in the data to mitigate the effect of stragglers. In this paper, we develop novel mathematical understanding for this framework demonstrating its effectiveness in much broader settings than was previously understood. We also analyze the convergence behavior of iterative encoded optimization algorithms, allowing us to characterize fundamental trade-offs between convergence rate, size of data set, accuracy, computational load (or data redundancy) and straggler toleration in this framework.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 634
Author(s):  
Weon Jang ◽  
Ji Soo Song ◽  
Sang Heon Kim ◽  
Jae Do Yang

While magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is routinely used, compressed sensing MRCP (CS-MRCP) and gradient and spin-echo MRCP (GRASE-MRCP) with breath-holding (BH) may allow sufficient image quality with shorter acquisition times. This study qualitatively and quantitatively compared BH-CS-MRCP and BH-GRASE-MRCP and evaluated their clinical effectiveness. Data from 59 consecutive patients who underwent both BH-CS-MRCP and BH-GRASE-MRCP were qualitatively analyzed using a five-point Likert-type scale. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the common bile duct (CBD), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the CBD and liver, and contrast ratio between periductal tissue and the CBD were measured. Paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and McNemar’s test were used for statistical analysis. No significant differences were found in overall image quality or duct visualization of the CBD, right and left 1st level intrahepatic duct (IHD), cystic duct, and proximal pancreatic duct (PD). BH-CS-MRCP demonstrated higher background suppression and better visualization of right (p = 0.004) and left 2nd level IHD (p < 0.001), mid PD (p = 0.003), and distal PD (p = 0.041). Image quality degradation was less with BH-GRASE-MRCP than BH-CS-MRCP (p = 0.025). Of 24 patients with communication between a cyst and the PD, 21 (87.5%) and 15 patients (62.5%) demonstrated such communication on BH-CS-MRCP and BH-GRASE-MRCP, respectively. SNR, contrast ratio, and CNR of BH-CS-MRCP were higher than BH-GRASE-MRCP (p < 0.001). Both BH-CS-MRCP and BH-GRASE-MRCP are useful imaging methods with sufficient image quality. Each method has advantages, such as better visualization of small ducts with BH-CS-MRCP and greater time saving with BH-GRASE-MRCP. These differences allow diverse choices for visualization of the pancreaticobiliary tree in clinical practice.


1987 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1962-1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Whitelaw ◽  
B. McBride ◽  
G. T. Ford

The mechanism by which large lung volume lessens the discomfort of breath holding and prolongs breath-hold time was studied by analyzing the pressure waves made by diaphragm contractions during breath holds at various lung volumes. Subjects rebreathed a mixture of 8% CO2–92% O2 and commenced breath holding after reaching an alveolar plateau. At all volumes, regular rhythmic contractions of inspiratory muscles, followed by means of gastric and pleural pressures, increased in amplitude and frequency until the breakpoint. Expiratory muscle activity was more prominent in some subjects than others, and increased through each breath hold. Increasing lung volume caused a delay in onset and a decrease in frequency of contractions with no consistent change in duty cycle and a decline in magnitude of esophageal pressure swings that could be accounted for by force-length and geometric properties. The effect of lung volume on the timing of contractions most resembled that of a chest wall reflex and is consistent with the hypothesis that the contractions are a major source of dyspnea in breath holding.


2000 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 1787-1792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Darquenne ◽  
Manuel Paiva ◽  
G. Kim Prisk

To determine the extent of the role that gravity plays in dispersion and deposition during breath holds, we performed aerosol bolus inhalations of 1-μm-diameter particles followed by breath holds of various lengths on four subjects on the ground (1G) and during short periods of microgravity (μG). Boluses of ∼70 ml were inhaled to penetration volumes (Vp) of 150 and 500 ml, at a constant flow rate of ∼0.45 l/s. Aerosol concentration and flow rate were continuously measured at the mouth. Aerosol deposition and dispersion were calculated from these data. Deposition was independent of breath-hold time at both Vp in μG, whereas, in 1G, deposition increased with increasing breath hold time. At Vp = 150 ml, dispersion was similar at both gravity levels and increased with breath hold time. At Vp = 500 ml, dispersion in 1G was always significantly higher than in μG. The data provide direct evidence that gravitational sedimentation is the main mechanism of deposition and dispersion during breath holds. The data also suggest that cardiogenic mixing and turbulent mixing contribute to deposition and dispersion at shallow Vp.


1975 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 768-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. N. Stanley ◽  
M. D. Altose ◽  
S. G. Kelsen ◽  
C. F. Ward ◽  
N. S. Cherniack

Experiments were conducted on human subjects to study the effect of lung inflation during breath holding on respiratory drive. Two series of experiments were performed: the first to examine respiratory drive during a single breath hold, the second designed to examine the sustained effect of lung inflation on subsequent breath holds. The experiments involved breath holding begun either at the end of a normal expiration or after a maximum inspiration. When breath holding was repeated at 10-min intervals, the increase in BHT produced by lung inflation was greater in short breath holds (after CO2 rebreathing) than in long breath holds (after hyperventilation). If breath holds were made in rapid succession, the first breath hold was much longer when made at total lung capacity than at functional residual capacity, but this effect of lung inflation diminished in subsequent breath holds. It is concluded that the inhibitory effect of lung inflation decays during breath holding and is regained remarkably slowly during the period of breathing immediately after breath holding.


1987 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 1019-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Bjurstrom ◽  
R. B. Schoene

Synchronized swimmers perform strenuous underwater exercise during prolonged breath holds. To investigate the role of the control of ventilation and lung volumes in these athletes, we studied the 10 members of the National Synchronized Swim Team including an olympic gold medalist and 10 age-matched controls. We evaluated static pulmonary function, hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory drives, and normoxic and hyperoxic breath holding. Synchronized swimmers had an increased total lung capacity and vital capacity compared with controls (P less than 0.005). The hypoxic ventilatory response (expressed as the hyperbolic shape parameter A) was lower in the synchronized swimmers than controls with a mean value of 29.2 +/- 2.6 (SE) and 65.6 +/- 7.1, respectively (P less than 0.001). The hypercapnic ventilatory response [expressed as S, minute ventilation (1/min)/alveolar CO2 partial pressure (Torr)] was no different between synchronized swimmers and controls. Breath-hold duration during normoxia was greater in the synchronized swimmers, with a mean value of 108.6 +/- 4.8 (SE) vs. 68.03 +/- 8.1 s in the controls (P less than 0.001). No difference was seen in hyperoxic breath-hold times between groups. During breath holding synchronized swimmers demonstrated marked apneic bradycardia expressed as either absolute or heart rate change from basal heart rate as opposed to the controls, in whom heart rate increased during breath holds. Therefore the results show that elite synchronized swimmers have increased lung volumes, blunted hypoxic ventilatory responses, and a marked apneic bradycardia that may provide physiological characteristics that offer a competitive advantage for championship performance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav Joshi ◽  
Akshara Pande ◽  
Omdeep Gupta ◽  
Anoop Nautiyal ◽  
Sanjay Jasola ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19) is causing a dramatic impact on human life worldwide. As of June 11 2021, later one has attributed more than 174 million confirmed cases and over 3.5 million deaths globally. Nonetheless, a World Bank Group flagship report features Covid-19 induced global crisis as the strongest post-recession since World WarII. Currently, all approved therapeutics or vaccines are strictly allowed for emergency use. Hence, in the absence of pharmaceutical interventions, it is vital to analyze data set covering the growth rates of positive human cases, number of recoveries, other factors, and future strategies to manage the growth of fatal Covid-19 effectively. The Uttarakhand state of India is snuggled in the lap of the Himalayas and occupies more people than Israel, Switzerland, Hong Kong, etc. This study analyzed state Covid-19 data, fetched from an authenticated government repository using Python 3.9 from April 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021. The highest recovery rate was attributed to the hilly district Rudraprayag. The analysis also revealed that a very high doubling rate was seen during the last week of May to the first week of Jun 2020. At last, based on this blueprint, we have suggested 6-points solutions for preventing the next pandemic.


1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (24) ◽  
pp. 3091-3099 ◽  
Author(s):  
S A Shaffer ◽  
D P Costa ◽  
T M Williams ◽  
S H Ridgway

The white whale Delphinapterus leucas is an exceptional diver, yet we know little about the physiology that enables this species to make prolonged dives. We studied trained white whales with the specific goal of assessing their diving and swimming performance. Two adult whales performed dives to a test platform suspended at depths of 5-300 m. Behavior was monitored for 457 dives with durations of 2.2-13.3 min. Descent rates were generally less than 2 m s-1 and ascent rates averaged 2.2-3 m s-1. Post-dive plasma lactate concentration increased to as much as 3.4 mmol l-1 (4-5 times the resting level) after dives of 11 min. Mixed venous PO2 measured during voluntary breath-holds decreased from 79 to 20 mmHg within 10 min; however, maximum breath-hold duration was 17 min. Swimming performance was examined by training the whales to follow a boat at speeds of 1.4-4.2 m s-1. Respiratory rates ranged from 1.6 breaths min-1 at rest to 5.5 breaths min-1 during exercise and decreased with increasing swim speed. Post-exercise plasma lactate level increased to 1.8 mmol l-1 (2-3 times the resting level) following 10 min exercise sessions at swimming speeds of 2.5-2.8 m s-1. The results of this study are consistent with the calculated aerobic dive limit (O2 store/metabolic rate) of 9-10 min. In addition, white whales are not well adapted for high-speed swimming compared with other small cetaceans.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document