Asthma-Free Naturally: Everything you need to know about taking control of your asthma. Patrick McKeown
Читать онлайн книгу.
and activity levels.
As mentioned above, the pulse is measured by counting the number of heartbeats per minute. Another option is to measure the number of beats over thirty seconds and multiply by two. Measuring for fifteen seconds and multiplying by four leaves too much room for error and is not advisable.
Measuring the pulse
When measuring heartbeats, make sure to measure your pulse and not to count the number of seconds on your clock or watch.
Locate the pulse about one inch up from the wrist and about one centimetre inwards on the thumb side of the hand. Place two fingers from the free hand onto the groove or channel in this area of the wrist where the slight throb of the pulse can be felt through the fingertips.
If you have difficulty locating the pulse on the wrist then check for it at the carotid artery in the neck.
In general, the lower the resting heart rate, the healthier the individual is. Normal healthy adults will have a pulse rate of 60 to 80 beats per minute at rest. Physically fit individuals will have a lower pulse rate than this, although some individuals have a naturally low pulse rate.
If the pulse rate is greater than 90 and less than 110 beats per minute at rest, the asthma is uncontrolled and a visit to a doctor is necessary. If the pulse rate is greater than 110 beats per minute at rest, asthma is acute/severe and medical attention is necessary.
The normal pulse range for a child is higher than that of an adult. A child’s pulse can vary from 60 to 100 beats per minute which decreases as the child gets older.
With both children and adults, an upward trend in the pulse or an increase of twenty per cent over 24 hours while taken at rest, are signs that asthma is deteriorating. Practising breathing exercises intensively will bring down the pulse and if necessary a doctor should be consulted to increase the dose of preventative medication.
It is advisable to note that the aforementioned pulse rate measurements must be only taken after resting for half-an-hour as the pulse rate increases considerably with physical activity.
The maximum recommended pulse rate for any individual while participating in physical activity is 220 minus their age. For example, the maximum recommended pulse rate for a twenty-five-year-old is 195 beats (220 minus 25) per minute.
The pulse will vary depending on a variety of factors. It may be adversely affected by, for example, food consumption levels, food allergies, stimulants such as coffee or chocolate, and factors such as excitement, anxiety, excessive talking and, of course, big breathing.
Control pause [CP]
The control pause is a measure of the level of carbon dioxide in the alveoli based on a comfortable breath hold. The control pause and pulse are used together to monitor asthma.
Over time, paying attention to the breathing pattern, your carbon dioxide threshold will adjust to a higher and healthier level. As a result the body becomes less sensitive to carbon dioxide accumulation, which will result in a gradual improvement in the length of time a person can hold their breath. By reducing the volume of breathing, carbon dioxide levels increase and therefore the control pause will increase.
Through overbreathing, the carbon dioxide level will decrease and therefore the control pause will decrease. The control pause will also decrease if medication is reduced too drastically.
The control pause is consistent and is a very good indicator of progress and of the current condition of the asthma, because of this it is essential to learn how to measure it correctly. Bear in mind that the control pause is only a measure; it is not an exercise to increase the level of your carbon dioxide.
The control pause enables the measurement of carbon dioxide in the alveoli without the need for any equipment other than a stopwatch or a watch/clock with a second hand.
Measuring your control pause
♦ Sit in an upright chair and adopt a good posture. Relax your shoulders and rest your lower back against the back of the chair.
♦ Do not change your breathing before taking your CP. Take a small breath in (two seconds) and a small breath out (three seconds). Hold your nose on the ‘out’ breath, with empty lungs but not too empty. Holding your nose is necessary to prevent air entering into the airways.
♦ Count how many seconds you can comfortably last before you need to breathe in again. Hold your breath until you feel the first need to breathe in. Release your nose and breathe in through it.
♦ Your first intake of breath after the CP should be no greater than your breath prior to taking measurement; you should not hold your breath for too long as this may cause you to take a big breath after measuring the CP.
Measuring the Control Pause (a)
Measuring the Control Pause (b)
Points to bear in mind
There are a number of important points to bear in kind when measuring your CP. Breathe normally before taking your CP. Try not to take a big breath before you start as this will give an inconsistent reading.
If you have just completed breathing exercises, wait two or three minutes. Measuring your CP directly after exercises will give an inaccurate reading due to an existing air shortage from the exercise.
Do not breathe all the air out of your lungs because this will be very uncomfortable and will result in a reduced CP. Also do not try to hold your breath for too long as this will give an incorrect reading. The CP is a measurement of your progress only: it is not an exercise to see how long you can hold your breath before you burst!
Hold your breath only until you feel the first urge to breathe in. You may not like the result but it is the correct one and that’s what you need to know. You can then take steps to correct it and gauge your progress with confidence.
It does take some practice before you become consistent in measuring your control pause. The measure is subjective because it is difficult to know what the first urge is. At first, it is very easy to push a little too hard and this is the case when the breath after taking the CP is greater than before.
With practice, the control pause will become more consistent. A reading of the level of carbon dioxide in the alveoli will be achieved with a correct control pause.
Carbon dioxide level
The level of carbon dioxide in the body determines the length of time the breath can be held: a higher level of carbon dioxide corresponds to a longer breath hold. The table above was developed by Professor Buteyko after he had measured the breath-holding ability of literally thousands of patients and matched it to their carbon dioxide levels. The figures are consistent and show the level of carbon dioxide based on the length of the control pause.
If the control pause is eight seconds, then there is a little less than four per cent carbon dioxide in the alveoli. If the control pause is fifteen seconds, the carbon dioxide is
between four and four-and-a-half per cent. The aim is to increase the level of carbon dioxide to at least five-and-a-half per cent giving a control pause of forty seconds.
With continuous practice of exercises, the respiratory centre will become accustomed to a higher concentration of carbon dioxide. Remember, it is the level of carbon dioxide that determines the need to breathe.
Low