What term describes difficult breathing when a patient is lying down?

What term describes difficult breathing when a patient is lying down?

• A. Orthopnea
• B. Hypoxemia
• C. Anoxia
• D. Antipyretic

Answer: (A)

Orthopnea is the term for shortness of breath that occurs when a person lies flat. When lying down, venous return to the heart increases, which can worsen pulmonary congestion in conditions like heart failure, making breathing harder. The hallmark is relief or improvement when the patient sits up or props the upper body with pillows. The other terms don’t describe this positional breathing difficulty—hypoxemia means low blood oxygen in general, anoxia is a total lack of oxygen, and an antipyretic is a fever-reducing medication.

Orthopnea is the term for shortness of breath that occurs when a person lies flat. When lying down, venous return to the heart increases, which can worsen pulmonary congestion in conditions like heart failure, making breathing harder. The hallmark is relief or improvement when the patient sits up or props the upper body with pillows. The other terms don’t describe this positional breathing difficulty—hypoxemia means low blood oxygen in general, anoxia is a total lack of oxygen, and an antipyretic is a fever-reducing medication.