Dyspnea in the patient with cardiopulmonary disease.

Dyspnea in the patient with cardiopulmonary disease has been defined and discussed, emphasizing those conditions which increase the work of breathing: increased elastic resistance; increased airway obstruction; and deformities of the chest wall, lung, and pleura. Methods of assessing the cardiopulmonary status of the patient as it relates to each condition were presented. Determining and understanding such clinical signs as patterns of breathing, cough and secretions, râles, rhonchi, wheezes, diminished or augmented breath sounds, poor or unequal expansion of the rib cage, and dullness or hyperresonance on percusion is extremely important for the nurse in order to accurately and comprehensively make a nursing assessment. Such an assessment can provide the information necessary to plan more effectively for the care of the patient with cardiopulmonary disease.