For this reason, anyone who experiences orthopnea should always be evaluated by a healthcare provider.
In this article, learn the causes and symptoms of orthopnea along with its diagnosis and treatment.
People with orthopnea usually prop themselves up to sleep.
Verywell / Laura Porter
The practitioner typically records the answer in the patients medical record as two-pillow orthopnea or three-pillow orthopnea.
Like orthopnea, PND is a bang out of shortness of breath that occurs in relation to sleep.
Generally, people who have PND do not notice dyspnea right after lying down.
PND is a far more dramatic event than orthopnea.
What Is the Main Cause of Orthopnea?
When anyone lies down flat, gravity causes a redistribution of fluid within the body.
As a result, pulmonary congestionand earlypulmonary edemamay occur, and shortness of breath results.
Heart failure is not the onlycause of orthopnea, but it is by far the most common.
Sometimes, people withasthmaorchronic bronchitishave more breathing problems while lying down.
Sleep apneacan also produce symptoms similar to orthopnea or, more often, to PND.
Diagnosing Orthopnea
In most cases, making the diagnosis of orthopnea is pretty straightforward.
Many people who have orthopnea will deal with the symptom subconsciously by adding a pillow or two.
This is why practitioners often ask how many pillows you routinely use.
For instance, symptoms consistent with heart failure, sleep apnea, asthma, or bronchitis should be elicited.
Additional testing is often needed to diagnose the cause of orthopnea.
Anechocardiogram,pulmonary function tests, orsleep studiesare commonly obtained.
Treatment of Orthopnea
An important goal in treating a person with heart failure is to eliminate orthopnea.
Treating orthopnea requires identifying and treating the underlying cause.
The onset of orthopnea or changes in its severity can indicate essential changes in the severity of heart failure.
Treating orthopnea is achieved by treating the underlying medical condition.
Definition, epidemiology and diagnosis of acute heart failure.Korean Circ J.
2022;17(4):223-229. doi:10.18502/jthc.v17i4.11611
