AIM Breath-holding spells are common in infancy and early childhood, and patients are frequently referred to paediatric cardiology clinics for exclusion of heart disease. Recent data reveal subsequent development of epilepsy and neurocardiogenic syncope. Autonomic dysregulation and increased vagal stimulation leading to cardiac arrest and cerebral ischaemia is considered as the cause. Iron defi...

The mechanism of breath-holding spells (BHS) is not fully understood and most probably multifactorial; so, this study was designed to clarify the pathophysiology of BHS through assessing some laboratory parameters and electrocardiographic (ECG) changes which might be contributing to the occurrence of the attacks. Another aim of the study was to evaluate the differences in the pathophysiology be...

The aim of the study was to assess differences in cerebrovascular reactivity in healthy subjects during orthostasis. Twenty healthy volunteers (11 men and 9 women) with no atherosclerotic risk factors were evaluated by use of transcranial Doppler. The breath holding index (BHI) was obtained in supine and upright posture using standardized procedure. Student's t-test was used on comparison of th...

Breath holding spells are stereotypical episodes of brief, involuntary cessations of breathing with cyanosis and hypoxia that may occur in children in response to stimuli such as anger, frustration, fear, or injury. Typically, they occur between 9 months to 3 years with a peak incidence at about 2 years(1). As the child matures and his understanding develops, these episodes decrease in frequenc...

Breath-holding spells are a common childhood disorder that typically present before 12 months of age. Whereas most cases are benign, some patients have very severe cases associated with bradycardia that can progress from asystole to syncope and seizures. Treatment studies have implicated the use of several therapies, such as oral iron, fluoxetine, and pacemaker implantation. This is a retrospec...

The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025729X 7 June 2010 192 11 663-664 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2010 www.mja.com.au Lessons from Practice he seizure-like activity that occurred in the two university students was probably convulsions secondary to cerebral hypoxia induced by breath-holding. Anoxic convulsions result from interruption of the oxygen supply to metabolically active neuro...

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in conjunction with synchronized spirometry we analyzed and compared diaphragm movement during tidal breathing and voluntary movement of the diaphragm while breath holding. Breathing cycles of 16 healthy subjects were examined using a dynamic sequence (77 slices in sagittal plane during 20 s, 1NSA, 240x256, TR4.48, TE2.24, FA90, TSE1, FOV 328). The amplitu...

We have studied 26 asthmatic patients in whom deep inspiration induced a transient but marked bronchodilatation when carbachol-induced bronchoconstriction was present. Changes in bronchial tone were assessed by specific airway resistance measurements. Bronchodilatation after a slow inspiration (eight subjects) or a 10-second breath-hold at total lung capacity (13 subjects) was significantly les...

The study investigated squeezing reaction time (RT) in response to a visual cue during rhythmic voluntary breathing at 0.6 Hz paced by a metronome, breath holding, or at rest in 13 healthy subjects. Rhythmic voluntary breathing slowed down RT, only in the expiratory phase with accompanied changes in the length of respiratory phases, while breath-holding reduced RT. The prolonged RT during volun...