"Minute Vent"?

Sleepyhead glossary says:

"Minute Vent: The average minute ventilation (tidal volume x rate). "

What does he mean by "minute ventilation"?

What rate is it that he uses in the product?

And what is the significance of the minute vent data?

(Is it "MIN-it" or "my-NOOT"?)

I found this:

Minute Ventilation = the volume of air breathed in (or out) within any 60 second period.

So I suspect it's pronounced like the unit of time.

Google is your best friend. Just google Minute ventilation or Minute ventilation normal values and start reading.


http://anesthesiageneral.com/what-is-mi ... ntilation/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_minute_volume

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1905613

Pugsy wrote:Google is your best friend. Just google Minute ventilation or Minute ventilation normal values and start reading.
http://anesthesiageneral.com/what-is-mi ... ntilation/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_minute_volume
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1905613

My wife is my best friend.

Only the first of those sites is useful. Let me summarize and answer my own questions.

Minute ventilation is the amount of air a person breathes in a minute ("MIN-it"), expressed in liters per minute (or fractions thereof).

It is calculated as the product of tidal volume (amount of air breathed in one breath by a person at rest, liters) and respiratory rate (breaths per minute).

As a 100kg person, they say I need 0.8-1.0 liters per breath. Sleepyhead says that my mean tidal volume value is around 0.50 (uncalibrated eyeball value). SH says that my eyeballed respiratory rate is about 15 breaths/minute. So my minute ventilation is then around 7.5 liters/min, which falls right in the minimum range (6-8 liters/min) "... for the proper oxygenation of the tissues and the removal of carbon dioxide from the lungs."

So I'm barely getting my required MV by rapid shallow breathing.

Does that have special significance?

pikov22 wrote:Does that have special significance?

Something to talk to your doctor about if you are concerned.
It's a lung function value and there are such a wide range of norms and your doctor would be the best person to evaluate your situation.

Pugsy wrote:

pikov22 wrote:Does that have special significance?

Something to talk to your doctor about if you are concerned.

I intend to!