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Hypopnea is overly shallow breathing or an abnormally low respiratory rate. Hypopnea is typically defined by a decreased amount of air movement into the lungs and can cause hypoxemia (low levels of oxygen in the blood.) It commonly is due to partial obstruction of the upper airway, but can also have neurological origins in central sleep apnea.
Fig. 6: Shallow breathing using rib muscles. Shallow breathing, thoracic breathing, costal breathing or chest breathing [1] is the drawing of minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using the intercostal muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm. Shallow breathing can result in or be ...
Dyspnea can come in many forms, but it is commonly known as shortness of breath or having difficulty breathing. People presenting with dyspnea usually show signs of rapid and shallow breathing, use of their respiratory accessory muscles, and may have underlying conditions causing the dyspnea, such as cardiac or pulmonary diseases. [5]
Hypoventilation is not synonymous with respiratory arrest, in which breathing ceases entirely and death occurs within minutes due to hypoxia and leads rapidly into complete anoxia, although both are medical emergencies. Hypoventilation can be considered a precursor to hypoxia, and its lethality is attributed to hypoxia with carbon dioxide toxicity.
Shortness of breath (SOB), known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that consists of qualitatively distinct sensations that vary in intensity", and recommends evaluating dyspnea by assessing the intensity of its distinct ...
If the patient responds verbally, you have established that there is at least a partially patent airway and that the patient is breathing (therefore not currently in respiratory arrest). If the patient is unresponsive, look for chest rise, which is an indicator of active breathing. A sternal rub is sometimes used to further assess for ...
“From reports, she was working hard in the months before her death and appeared to be fit and well. However, the chance of having a stroke increases with age and affects women more than men.
Alveolar hypoventilation (decreased minute volume due to reduced respiratory muscle activity, e.g. in acute neuromuscular disease); this form can also cause type 2 respiratory failure if severe. Diffusion problem (oxygen cannot enter the capillaries due to parenchymal disease, e.g. in pneumonia or ARDS).