2 years ago at 56, I went into syncope twice. The first time I was walking in a park and doing deep breathing. (like many I misinterpreted slow breathing with hyperventilation). A week later while hospitalized for rapid afib as I was about to go for a cardioversion, I walked to the bathroom doing deep breathing, I went into sustained vtach, vfib and cardiac arrest. Thankfully I was in a great hospital, I was on a cardiac monitor, the medical team came very quickly to save my life.
Thanks to this great forum, I changed my diet, alcohol and gluten free, vegetarian and above all food rich in magnesium and potassium. I have been watching numerous videos and reading a great deal of books on slow breathing but I am finding it challenging to put it in practice. That what motivated me to start a channel with a weekly practice to develop slow nasal breathing youtube.com/watch?v=Dnk9Ruc....
Could you let my know how you managed to slow down your breathing?
Thierry
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Sustainedvtach270
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Lay down in a relaxed position. Use your diaphragm (stomach) not your shoulders. Pull down slowly to count of six, hold , pull up for count of eight and squeeze your stomach against your spine to expell all air. Hold. Repeat slowing breathing down to no more that six breaths a minute for at least five minutes. With practise you can get even slower.
This excercise is also used by US navy personel on carriers to aid going to sleep on noisy operations I am told.
Hello Bob. Thank you for your answer and your commitment to the forum! I always learn so much from your comments. Yes 6 breaths a minute is a great goal which I have achieved but at times I still forget to breathe and breathe too fast. Yestorday on my way to work my heart rate was in the 50s-70s but spiked at120 once, I was able to bounce back rapidly doing my slow breathing. (I do not advise doing breathing exercises while driving).
I think heart rhythm problems can often be started by our concentrating too hard on what we are doing and subconsciously breathing in a very shallow manner. For instance the times when we are absorbed looking on the internet or watching t.v. Posture, not slouching or wearing anything tight around our torso are important things to be aware of too, to help our hearts beat free from restraints.
So many people will say I was just sat quietly watching t.v. and my AF kicked off for no reason. They are bewildered, but were they shallow breathing, had they just eaten a large meal, then sat slouched, compressing their heart and restricting it's function.
We forum members often write on this forum about the art of breathing correctly deep into the stomach.
I've also noticed that I can bring down my blood pressure easily by breathing in deeply then huffing the air out as quickly as I can from my mouth.
Thank you for your interesting talk. Please don't mind me saying this, but I found the background music/singing made it hard for me to hear and concentrate on what you were saying.
Hi Jean! Thank you for your comment and being always so active in the forum. My 9 year old son is enjoying filming the videos, we will lower the music. You are absolutely right, in the this modern world we get easily distracted with the phone, internet, tv... Our thoughts influence our breathing which influences our heart
Hi Barry. You are bringing a great point, for many of us meditation is hard because our breathing is too rapid. Focusing on my breathing at some particular times during the day, is like meditation for me.When in the hospital, a nurse practitioner (who was part of the medical team which saved my life) gave me a great book on slow breathing "Fear" by Thich Nhat Hanh.
There has been a great deal written about slow breathing but the technique I always found the most affective was called 7:11 breathing. Long, slow breath in to the bottom of the lungs for count of 7, hold 2-3, longer, slow breath out for count of 11.
I find that breath exercises to Tai Chi/Chi Kung the most affective and remembering to always breathe through your nose, not your mout - which encourages hyperventilation - the most difficult to adopt. I use oral tape to tape up my mouth as an aid and always at night.
Doing breathing exercises lying down I found not effective, it’s much more difficult to get air into the bottom of your lungs where the gas exchange occurs than sitting or better still standing because lying down you need to use your diaphragm a lot more actively to get the same affect.
Whatever you do, however you do it, it’s the regular practice to relearn habit which is important and so glad you find it helpful!
I use slow breathing 'counting breaths' and diaphragm breathing , without it I know I wouldn't cope so well or be able to do much at all during my long almost constant episodes of P-AF when I become breathless which has a tendency to cause fast breathing and that can lead to hyperventilation contributing to breathlessness.
When we sleep we naturally slow down our breathing and our hear rate drops so it seems logical to me that relaxation and slow breathing may also help to lower our heart rate and relax us during an episode of P-AF .
There is a video here by Dr Michael Mosley about breathing techniques in which he mentions lowering the heart rate and other benefits
Hi Sustainedvtach270 I have diet covered too, I have always been a 'healthy eater ' cooking from scratch and growing my own vegetables even more so since AF arrived.
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