Abstract
This study was designed to evaluate the long-term effects of paced diaphragmatic breathing on subjects who reported functional cardiac symptoms and who also demonstrated associated signs of hyperventilation syndrome. Subjects were a representative sample composed of 10 out of the original 41 subjects who had participated three years previously in a study designed to evaluate the short-term effects of breathing retraining on functional cardiac symptoms and respiratory parameters (respiratory rate and end-tidal carbon dioxide). The results of this follow-up study indicate that breathing retraining had lasting effects on both respiratory parameters measured. Subjects evidenced significantly higher end-tidal carbon dioxide levels and lower respiratory rates when compared to pretreatment levels measured three years earlier. Subjects also continued to report a decrease in the frequency of functional cardiac symptoms when compared to pretreatment levels. We conclude that breathing retraining has lasting effects on respiratory physiology and is highly correlated with a reduction in reported functional cardiac symptoms.
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We would like to thank the Marquette Company for the use of their end-tidal CO2 equipment. We also thank the Biofeedback Institute of San Diego for supporting this study by providing office space and equipment. Steven DeGuire, Ph.D. is now affiliated with Heather Hill Hospital Health and Care Center in Chardon, Ohio.
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DeGuire, S., Gevirtz, R., Hawkinson, D. et al. Breathing retraining: A three-year follow-up study of treatment for hyperventilation syndrome and associated functional cardiac symptoms. Biofeedback and Self-Regulation 21, 191–198 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02284695
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02284695