What causes shallow breathing?

Is shallow breathing caused by the same things that cause apnea? Obstructed/collapsed airways?

Yes.... and when you breathe shallowly it can cause hypopneas which are apnea wanna-be's. It also will usually result in O2 desats and that, in turn, causes all kinds of problems like hypertension, memory issues, etc. Obstructive Hypopnea Syndrome is treated the same way as Obstructive Sleep Apnea.... using a cpap machine and mask to help stent open the breathing passages so full breaths and good respiration can take place.

Wikipedia defines hypopneas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypopnea

Emilia, very well explained ! Apnea wanna be, I love it !

Axxel wrote:Is shallow breathing caused by the same things that cause apnea? Obstructed/collapsed airways?

A cause could be abdominal fat restricting the lung's ability to expand easily.

Another cause, though much less likely than the previous possibilities listed by other posters, is problems with the central nervous system or with the heart. Both can lead to central sleep apnea and shallow breathing. Of those two, cardiac issues is more likely to be an issue. Problems with the central nervous system (brain stem in particular) is quite rare.

Axxel wrote:Is shallow breathing caused by the same things that cause apnea? Obstructed/collapsed airways?

I am quite sure that there are a number of causes for shallow breathing including those you mention. Another major problem according to my pulmonary doctor is obesity because the extra fat in a person’s abdominal area pushes against the diaphragm causing shallow breathing and other problems. I was told that this is a more acute problem during sleep although it is often a factor during a persons waking hours as well.

The reason the doctor brought the matter up in the first place was because I am obese which combined with my copd from heavy smoking of 26 years or so and a sleep apnea problem lead to additional breathing issues.

Just a thought.


Roger

I guess I jumped to the conclusion that OP's question was about sleep disordered breathing...in the shallow sense. Yes, there are probably many causes for shallow breathing...many mentioned here, but regardless of the cause, I presume if not addressed, can lead to hypopneas. I certainly had no particular illnesses other than mild pre-hypertension, and went for well over a decade undiagnosed until a doctor ordered an overnight pulse oximetry test that showed low O2. That led to my sleep study that showed very shallow breathing and 78 hypopneas. I think I had only 1 apnea in the study. My data rarely shows any apneas, and now my AHI is consistently 1.5 with great O2.