Effect of breathing control on heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation in institutionalized elderly

Slow breathing increases baroreflex sensitivity in elderly. The purpose of this study was to investigate how elderly (N = 12, 81.08 ± 6.61 years old, 10 women) responded in terms of heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2), when they learned predominantly abdominal and slow breathing (AB), without imposition of respira-tory frequency (RF). Results revealed that AB resulted in significant reduction of RF, and had significant beneficial (transient) effects in HR, SBP, DBP, SBP-DBP interval, and SpO2, principally for those participants with blood pressure higher than a normal one.