Orthopnoea
This is dyspnoea on lying flat. To avoid this unpleasant symptom, the patient will typically try to lie propped up, e.g.
using extra pillows. The symptoms may he so distressing that the patient will sleep upright in a chair. Orthopnoea is usually found when cardiac disease is more advanced and rarely occurs in the absence of effort dyspnoea unless it has been precipitated by an acute event such as the onset ot a cardiac dysrhythmia. The orthopnoeic patient often experiences paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea (1'NU).
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