Dyspnea: Mechanisms and assessment

ABSTRACT

This work studies the pathophysiological mechanisms of dyspnea and describes the assessement of intensity of dyspnea. The study of mechanisms of dyspnea show that dyspnea can result from a respiratory muscle dysfunction, an excessive stimulation and/or alteration of pulmonary and extrapulmonary receptors, and a direct and excessive stimulation of respiratory centres. The assessment of dyspnea can be made generally by indirect methods based on questionnaires and direct methods based on psychophysiology techniques. The understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms and the study of the assessment of dyspnea represents the key principles in strategy and effectiveness of the dyspnea treatment