• Question: Obviously, if your heart stops beating, you will die, but hypothetically, why if you hold your breath, your lungs stop but your heart carries on? This may seem a silly question but if you think about it, there is no new passing in your blood, meaning the heart would find it more difficult to circulate blood, so don't you think in theory the heart would at least slow down in bpm (beats per minute) when you hold your breath?

    Asked by slickdragon64 to Helen, Ian, rhysphillips on 23 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Rhys Phillips

      Rhys Phillips answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      Your lungs don’t stop working when you hold your breath – they can manage with the air you’ve breathed in for a while. As it happens, I believe holding your breath does decrease your pulse very slighty.

    • Photo: Helen Fletcher

      Helen Fletcher answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      In people trained to hold their breath, like divers, there is evidence that the heart rate slows down, which reduces consumption of oxygen and allows them to hold their breath for longer. But this is dangerous too- it can cause oxygen deficiency, loss of consciousness and death. Animals that are adapted differently to us can cope better with holding their breath- like beavers, which can do it for 20 minutes!

    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      If you hold your breath for long enough, you will die, but there is enough leftover oxygen in our bodies when we start to hold our breath to keep us going for a few minutes.

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