Everyone Healthy Library
Breathing Difficulty When Lying Flat (Orthopnoea)
Sign or symptom reference page from the Everyone Healthy database.
! Seek urgent medical care if warning signs appear
A symptom can have many possible causes. Some symptoms need urgent assessment, especially when they are severe, sudden or rapidly worsening.
Get urgent medical care now if there is any severe, sudden, rapidly worsening or worrying symptom, especially:
- chest pain, pressure or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
- trouble breathing, blue lips, severe wheeze or choking
- stroke-like symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech trouble
- collapse, fainting, seizure, confusion or extreme drowsiness
- severe bleeding, black stools, vomiting blood or major injury
- severe allergic reaction, swelling of the face/throat or widespread rash with breathing trouble
- severe abdominal pain, severe headache, stiff neck or sudden vision change
- signs of severe dehydration, sepsis, high fever with worsening illness, or symptoms in a baby/young child that concern you
Full information
Breathing Difficulty When Lying Flat (Orthopnoea)
Orthopea, or orthopnoea, is shortness of breath (dyspnea) which occurs when lying flat. Orthopnea can be a symptom of heart failure of asthma. Persons inflicted with orthopea may need to sleep propped up in bed or sitting in a chair.
Symptom classification
Body areaBreath
Conditions linked to this sign/symptom
19- Antithrombin III Deficiency
- Aortic Regurgitation
- Ascites
- Atrial Myxoma
- Atrial Septal Defect
- Cardiac Tamponade
- Cor Pulmonale
- Dilated Congestive Cardiomyopathy
- Extracellular Fluid Volume Expansion
- Heart Failure
- Ischaemic Heart Disease
- Mitral Regurgitation
- Mitral Stenosis
- Odema
- Pericarditis
- Peripartum Cardiomyopathy
- Polycythemia Vera
- Postinfectious Glomerulonephritis
- Pulmonary Edema
Drugs where this is listed as a side effect
0No drug side-effect links are listed yet.