ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that dyspnea is a primary symptom of asthma. The global rating of dyspnea, in conjunction with frequency–intensity rating of the descriptor “work/effort,” may reflect the persistence of obstruction-inflammation of the airways more clearly than ratings of overall intensity of dyspnea alone. Different qualitative dyspnea sensations can help explain the underlying mechanisms of the symptom. Restrictive lung disease is a broad term encompassing several conditions in which lung volumes are reduced. Interstitial lung disease is the prototypical restrictive disease. Symptoms of asthma are commonly used by patients and health-care professionals to assess disease severity and control, the relationship between symptoms and objective measures of lung function is poor in patients with asthma. A differentiation between the sensory and affective components of reported dyspnea in asthmatic patients with comorbid anxiety/depression might be of particular importance to and improve the accuracy of the diagnostic process, symptom perception, and therapeutic interventions.
