Premium
Breathlessness descriptors differ during constant load cycling in obese women with vs. without dyspnea on exertion
Author(s) -
Bernhardt Vipa,
Lorenzo Santiago,
Moran Raksa B.,
Bassett J. Todd,
Haller Sarah F.,
Pineda Jessica N.,
Babb Tony G.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.718.3
Subject(s) - exertion , perceived exertion , cycling , physical therapy , sensation , medicine , breathing , work of breathing , intensity (physics) , psychology , respiratory system , anesthesia , heart rate , blood pressure , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , history
During constant load exercise, some otherwise healthy obese women experience dyspnea on exertion (+DOE), while others do not (−DOE). We investigated how the subjective quality of respiratory sensations differed between these groups. 80 women were categorized based on their Ratings of Perceived Breathlessness (RPB, Borg 0–10 scale) after 6 minutes of 60 W cycling. 34 women rated RPB ≥ 4 (+DOE) (34 ± 7 yr, 36 ± 5 BMI) and 24 women rated RPB ≤ 2 (−DOE) (33 ± 8 yr, 37 ± 4 BMI). 22 women with RPB = 3 were excluded to better delineate the groups. After exercise, subjects were asked to pick three of fifteen statements that best described their respiratory sensations. Descriptor data were analyzed as frequency statistics and compared using Fisher's exact test. The top descriptors chosen by +DOE women were “Breathing is heavy” (53%, p < 0.05), ”Breathing requires work” (50%), and “Breathing requires effort” (38%); −DOE women selected “I am breathing more” (82%, p < 0.05), “Breathing is rapid” (38%), and “Breathing is shallow” (38%, p < 0.05) most often (p values depict those descriptors that were different between groups). Not only is the intensity of breathlessness significantly different between these groups, but also the qualitative aspects of their breathlessness. +DOE women may have an increased sensation of the work of breathing than − DOE women, which may be related to the elevated RPB. NIH HL096782 , King Charitable Foundation Trust.