Slow respiration is defined as less than 12 breaths per minute, and normal human respiration is between 12 and 20 breaths per minute. The causes of slow respiration are commonly attributed to physiological factors and pathological factors such as inhibition of the respiratory center, neuromuscular disorders, obstructive ventilation dysfunction and so on.
1. Physiological factors: slow respiration is common in athletes, due to the long-term massive exercise process, all the tissues and organs of the body need a large amount of oxygen, the lungs through the increase in lung capacity to provide more oxygen to the body, so athletes respiratory rate is slower than normal people.
2. Pathologic factors:
(1) Inhibition of the respiratory center: once a patient suffers inhibition of the respiratory center, whether because of poisoning or trauma or infection of the central nervous system, a slow respiratory rate will occur.
(2) Neuromuscular disorders: periodic paralysis caused by polyneuritis, myasthenia gravis, hypokalemia, etc. will trigger neuromuscular disorders, resulting in slow respiratory rate.
(3) Obstructive Ventilation Dysfunction: Commonly found in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), fast respiratory rate and increased airway resistance are not conducive to the expulsion of gases. Therefore, such patients usually choose to breathe slowly and deeply, and when the respiratory rate is slow and the airflow rate is slow, the airway resistance will not be increased, and it is easier to breathe out the inhaled gases.
It is recommended that patients with slow breathing should seek medical examination in time, and the doctor will treat them according to the cause of the disease.