Platypnea

Platypnea is shortness of breath (breathlessness) that is relieved when lying down, and worsens when sitting or standing up. It is the opposite of orthopnea.[1] The condition was first described in 1949 and named in 1969.[2] The word is derived from the Greek platus (= flat) and pnoia (=breath).

A related condition, orthodeoxia, describes the clinical finding of low oxygen saturation in the upright position, which improves when lying down.[3]

Platypnea and orthodeoxia often co-exist, and this combination is named platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome.[4][5] The syndrome is considered extremely rare.[4]

Causes

Platypnea is due to either hepatopulmonary syndrome or an anatomical cardiovascular defect increasing positional right-to-left shunting (bloodflow from the right to the left part of the circulatory system). These defects include rare syndromes in which the venous blood from the liver does not pass through the lungs, or if venous blood from the portal circulation reaches the inferior vena cava without passing through the liver (Abernethy malformation, type 1).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (32 ed.). Elsevier Saunders. 2012. p. 1459. ISBN 978-0-8089-2418-0.
  2. ↑ Robin ED, McCauley RF (1997). "An analysis of platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome including a 'new' therapeutic approach". Chest 112 (6): 1449–51. doi:10.1378/chest.112.6.1449. PMID 9404736.
  3. ↑ Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary (32 ed.). Elsevier Saunders. 2012. p. 1337. ISBN 978-0-8089-2418-0.
  4. 1 2 Cheng TO (2002). "Mechanisms of platypnea-orthodeoxia: what causes water to flow uphill?". Circulation 105 (6): e47. PMID 11839642.
  5. ↑ Kubler P, Gibbs H, Garrahy P (2000). "Platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndrome". Heart 83 (2): 221–3. doi:10.1136/heart.83.2.221. PMC 1729301. PMID 10648502.
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