Fear of suffocation alters respiration during obstructed breathing

Abstract

We aimed to investigate whether fear of suffocation predicts healthy persons' respiratory and affective responses to obstructed breathing as evoked by inspiratory resistive loads. Participants (N = 27 women, ages between 18 and 21 years) completed the Fear of Suffocation scale and underwent 16 trials in which an inspiratory resistive load of 15 cmH(2)O/l/s (small) or 40 cmH(2)O/l/s (large) was added to the breathing circuit for 40 s. Fear of suffocation was associated with higher arousal ratings for both loads. Loaded breathing was associated with a decrease in minute ventilation, but progressively less so for participants scoring higher on fear of suffocation when breathing against the large load. The present findings document a potentially panicogenic mechanism that may maintain and worsen respiratory discomfort in persons with fear of suffocation.