Respiratory Rate And Heart Health: What Is The Connection

Respiratory rate is a vital sign for the human body and indicates its optimal functioning. Your breaths’ depth, pattern, and speed indicate whether the body can deliver oxygen to all the tissues and vital organs. Respiratory rate is not only affected by temporary factors like alcohol consumption, poor sleep, drugs, or anxiety but also due to chronic conditions like heart disease.

What you need to know:

Understanding respiration and respiratory rate
Normal respiratory rate in adults and children
How is the respiratory rate an indicator of heart health

Understanding respiration and respiratory rate

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Respiratory rate is the number of breaths you take per minute. Respiration is a metabolic process of inhaling oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. The body’s respiratory drive controls it. The respiratory drive can be further divided into 3 control systems:

Neural central control:

The neural central control is responsible for setting the air intake volume and ventilation rate, thus affecting breathing patterns, inhalation, and exhalation.

Sensory input system:

The sensory input system interacts with the central nervous system to set the volume and rate of breathing and recognize chemical changes.

Muscular system:

The muscular system is responsible for controlling the mechanics of breathing. It receives signals from the other systems and moves the lungs accordingly.

Heart diseases can affect any or all of these systems and adversely affect respiratory rates. Poor respiratory rates due to other factors and conditions have also been known to affect heart health.

Normal respiratory rate in adults and children

In healthy adults, a normal respiratory rate is between 12 and 20 breaths per minute. Changes in respiratory rate may be due to aging, conditions affecting other organs, or a sign of cardiac arrest. A respiratory rate lower than normal can be due to central nervous system dysfunction, whereas a rate higher than normal may be due to other underlying causes.

In children, the respiratory rate varies by age.

Newborns (0-1 month): 30-60 breaths per minute
Infants (1-12 months): 30-60 breaths per minute
Children (1-5 years): 20-40 breaths per minute
Children (6-12 years): 18-30 breaths per minute
Adolescents (13-18 years): 12-16 breaths per minute
Adults (18 years and older): 12-20 breaths per minute

How is the respiratory rate an indicator of heart health

The relationship between respiratory rate and heart health has been observed in several situations:

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia

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Under normal conditions, heart rate increases during inhalation and decreases with exhalation. This natural variation in the heart rate is known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). RSA is seen in healthy individuals with a well-functioning autonomic nervous system. Reduced RSA can be an indicator of autonomic dysfunction or heart conditions.

Tachypnea (high respiratory rate)

The body can elevate its respiratory rate to increase oxygen intake if the heart doesn’t pump blood effectively. Respiratory rate has been observed to be higher in cases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure to meet the body’s oxygen demands. Rapid breathing is also observed in the case of pulmonary embolism or acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) as the body struggles to remain adequately oxygenated.

Bradypnea (low respiratory rate)

Severe metabolic disturbances or cardiovascular conditions can cause low respiratory rate. It is a result of inadequate oxygenation of the blood due to respiratory depression or poor cardiac function. Low respiratory rate is often associated with advanced stages of heart disease and severe heart failure. It is also an indicator of low cardiac output or lack of oxygen in the blood, also known as hypoxemia, or in the tissues, known as hypoxia.

Diagnosis and management of heart conditions require regular monitoring of heart rate and respiratory rate as they are valuable indicators of heart health. Respiratory rate can reflect how well your cardiovascular system functions and whether it is coping with stress and other complications occurring with heart conditions.

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