Breathing is a fundamental process needed to sustain life. Still, it is only a part of the complex oxygen, carbon-dioxide swapping cycle called respiration. This process begins upon inhalation, allowing oxygen to flow deep within the lungs and pass into the bloodstream. Carbon dioxide, a waste product made in the cells, passes from the blood plasma into the lungs, then out into the atmosphere during exhalation. Many factors can offset this delicate balance of breathing in and breathing out.
Significance
There are two factors that play a role in the process of breathing, compliance and resistance. Compliance is essentially the elasticity or ability of the lungs to stretch and expand during inhalation, then relax during exhalation. Resistance is how easily air flows in and out of the lungs. The more resistance there is, the more work it takes to inhale and exhale. So with normal compliance and resistance, a normal breathing rate and rhythm occurs spontaneously without much thought at all. A healthy adult takes 12 to 14 breaths per minute while at rest.
Function
As compliance and resistance changes due to disease or injury, so does the breathing pattern. When a person suffers from asthma for instance, inflammation and mucus build up in the airway, interfering with the flow of air into and out of the lungs. It becomes more difficult to breathe in as the airway narrows from swelling, so ultimately the respiratory rate increases to take in more air as the brains sends signals that more oxygen is needed for the cells. As more energy is used to meet the changing oxygen demand, the cycle of an abnormal breathing takes place.
Causes
Wheezing is a classic symptom of abnormal breathing and is the result of airway inflammation from asthma as well as several other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Other common causes include bronchogenic carcinoma or lung cancer which can severely limit airflow into and out of the lungs causing an increased respiratory rate. Respiratory arrest and respiratory failure can cause an erratic respiratory rate as well as an abnormal rhythm due to an impaired respiratory drive to metabolize oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
Types
Types of abnormal breathing include Kussmaul breathing which is associated with renal failure and a metabolic acidosis such as diabetic ketoacidosis. The rate and rhythm is rapid and shallow, turning to deep, slow and labored breathing as the medical condition worsens. Biot's breathing includes clusters of quick, shallow breaths followed by periods of no breathing at all. Cheyne-Stokes is an abnormal breathing pattern characterized by increasingly deep quick breaths followed by periods of apnea and tachypnea.
Prevention
A wide range of lung diseases and disorders can cause breathing problems. According to the American Lung Association, the incidence of many of these diseases could be reduced or eliminated by avoiding exposure to cigarette smoking, environmental pollutants, industrial waste and occupational exposure to known carcinogens. In some instances, however, diseases causing abnormal breathing are hereditary. Being pre-disposed to inheriting these disorders such an asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, should make a person all the more vigilant in avoiding know causes of lung disease.
