Sleep dyspnea is a feeling of shortness of breath that can wake a person from sleep and is often indicative of conditions that can be life-threatening, such as heart failure and lung cancer. It cannot be diagnosed by a medical examination and is assessed by the person suffering from the condition.
Sleep dyspnea, often referred to as nocturnal dyspnea or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, is a feeling of shortness of breath strong enough to wake a person from sleep. Dyspnea, which can occur at any time, cannot be diagnosed by a medical examination because it is a subjective experience. The main symptom of dyspnea is that the patient feels short of breath. While it’s common for people to experience this sensation during physical exertion, shortness of breath that occurs while a person is resting or sleeping is a potential sign of illness.
People with sleep dyspnea may be awakened in the middle of the night feeling like they are not getting enough air. The person’s chest may feel tight, they may breathe heavily, or they may feel like they are choking. While these symptoms can be scary, the symptoms themselves are usually not dangerous.
While sleep dyspnea is usually benign, it is often indicative of conditions that can be life threatening. Heart failure, especially when it affects the left ventricle, is a common cause of sleep dyspnea because the left side of the heart is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood through the body. In many people, the left ventricle may have trouble keeping up with the right. This may be normal during periods of exertion, but a delay in the left ventricle during rest can be a symptom of a serious heart condition.
Lung cancer can be another cause of sleep dyspnea. A tumor that blocks part of the bronchial passage can make it difficult or impossible for a person to breathe deeply. A buildup of fluid in the lungs can also lead to a feeling of shortness of breath.
Sleep dyspnea is not characterized by a change in breathing pattern, although such a change may occur simultaneously. Hyperventilation, for example, occurs when a person takes a series of quick, shallow breaths. The psychological effects of sleep dyspnea can lead to an episode of hyperventilation, but rapid breathing is not a sign of dyspnea.
It is not easy to diagnose sleep dyspnea because there is no physiological measure of the disorder. The severity of the shortness of breath is assessed by the person suffering from the condition, and the experience of the illness can change from person to person or from episode to episode. A questionnaire administered by a physician is the primary method by which sleep dyspnea is diagnosed.
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