Hyperventilation Health Article

Common Causes

• anxiety and nervousness
• stress
• panic attack
• situations where there is a psychological advantage in having a sudden, dramatic illness (for example, somatization disorder)
• stimulant use
• lung disease such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung)
• infection such as pneumonia or sepsis
• cardiac disease such as congestive heart failure or heart attack
• severe pain
• bleeding
• drugs (such as an aspirin overdose)
• pregnancy
• ketoacidosis and similar medical conditions

Home Care

Assuming that a more serious, underlying cause of hyperventilation has been eliminated and your doctor has explained that you hyperventilate from anxiety, stress, or panic, there are steps you can take at home. You, your friends, and family can learn techniques to stop you from hyperventilating when it happens and to prevent future attacks.

If you start hyperventilating, the goal is to raise the carbon dioxide level in your blood, which will put an end to most of your symptoms. There are several ways to do this:

1. Reassurance from a friend or family member can help relax your breathing. Words like "you are doing fine," "you are not having a heart attack," and "you are not going to die" are very helpful. It is extremely important that the person helping you remain calm and deliver these messages with a soft, relaxed tone.
2. To increase your carbon dioxide, you need to take in less oxygen. To accomplish this, you can breathe through pursed lips (as if you are blowing out a candle) or you can cover your mouth and one nostril, breathing through the other nostril.

Over the long term, there are several important steps to follow to try to eliminate your tendency to overbreathe:

1. If anxiety or panic has been diagnosed, see a psychologist or psychiatrist to help you understand and treat your condition.
2. Learn breathing exercises that help you relax and breathe from your diaphragm and abdomen, rather than your chest wall.
3. Practice relaxation techniques regularly, such as progressive muscle relaxation or meditation.
4. Exercise regularly.

If these methods alone are not preventing your overbreathing, your doctor may recommend a beta blocker medication.