Patients with CHF often experience nocturnal dyspnea. What is this also known as?

Nocturnal dyspnea, particularly in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), is commonly referred to as paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (PND). This condition occurs when a patient experiences sudden episodes of difficulty breathing that awaken them from sleep, often requiring them to sit up or walk around to alleviate the symptoms.

In CHF, fluid can accumulate in the lungs while the patient is lying down, leading to difficulty in breathing. When individuals lie flat, the redistribution of body fluids can exacerbate pulmonary congestion, triggering these episodes of breathlessness during the night. Clarifying this, PND is a specific term used to describe this phenomenon of acute dyspnea that occurs typically after the patient has been asleep for a while.

Other terms like orthopnea, which refers to difficulty breathing when lying flat, may also be relevant to patients with CHF, however, PND describes a more acute and severe experience that often involves sudden onset during sleep.