Use of the Nijmegen Questionnaire in asthma.

http://ow.ly/P60J7.

The Nijmegen Questionnaire and dysfunctional breathing.

http://ow.ly/MBJj1.

Relationship between dysfunctional breathing patterns and ability to achieve target heart rate variability with features of "coherence" during biofeedback.

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback is a self-regulation strategy used to improve conditions including asthma, stress, hypertension, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Respiratory muscle function affects hemodynamic influences on respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and HRV and HRV-biofeedback protocols often include slow abdominal breathing to achieve physiologically optimal patterns of HRV with power spectral distribution concentrated around the 0.1-Hz frequency and large amplitude.

Medically unexplained dyspnea: partly moderated by dysfunctional (thoracic dominant) breathing pattern.

Background: Dysfunctional breathing (DB) may contribute to disproportionate dyspnea and other medically unexplained symptoms. The extent of dysfunctional breathing is often evaluated using the Nijmegen Questionnaire (NQ) or by the presence of abnormal breathing patterns. The NQ was originally devised to evaluate one form of dysfunctional breathing - hyperventilation syndrome.

Evaluation of breathing pattern: comparison of a Manual Assessment of Respiratory Motion (MARM) and respiratory induction plethysmography.

Altered breathing pattern is an aspect of dysfunctional breathing but few standardised techniques exist to evaluate it. This study investigates a technique for evaluating and quantifying breathing pattern, called the Manual Assessment of Respiratory Motion (MARM) and compares it to measures performed with Respiratory Induction Plethysmography (RIP). About 12 subjects altered their breathing and posture while 2 examiners assessed their breathing using the MARM.

Effects of a behavioural intervention on quality of life and related variables in angioplasty patients: results of the EXhaustion Intervention Trial.

Objectives: The EXhaustion Intervention Trial investigated the effect of a behavioural intervention programme on exhaustion, health-related quality of life (HRQL), depression, anxiety, hostility, and anginal complaints in angioplasty patients who felt exhausted after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: Seven hundred ten patients were randomized into an intervention group and a usual care control group. The group intervention focused on stressors leading to exhaustion and on support of recovery.

Relaxation therapy for rehabilitation and prevention in ischaemic heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: To establish the effects of relaxation therapy on the recovery from a cardiac ischaemic event and secondary prevention.

Methods And Results: A search was conducted for controlled trials in which patients with myocardial ischaemia were taught relaxation therapy, and outcomes were measured with respect to physiological, psychological, cardiac effects, return to work and cardiac events. A total of 27 studies were located.

Effects of treating exhaustion in angioplasty patients on new coronary events: results of the randomized Exhaustion Intervention Trial (EXIT).

Background: Extreme fatigue is a common complaint in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients, and is associated with an increased risk for new cardiac events. The objective of the Exhaustion Intervention Trial (EXIT) was to determine whether a behavioral intervention on exhaustion reduces the risk of a new coronary event after PCI.

Methods And Results: Seven hundred ten consecutive patients, ages 35 to 68 years, who felt exhausted after PCI were randomized into an intervention group and a usual-care group.

Respiratory variability and psychological well-being in schoolchildren.

Among the relations between respiration and psychological state, associations with respiratory variability have been contradictory. In this study, respiration was measured noninvasively in 162 children with a mean age of 11 years (from 9 to 13). They completed a battery of psychological tests.