ABSTRACT
The term breathlessness is now widely used in the palliative care and breathlessness literature in preference to the biomedical “dyspnea” to emphasize the focus on the daily experience of breathlessness from the patient's perspective. Breathlessness presents as continuous breathlessness alone or in combination with episodic breathlessness. The latter is characterized by a severe worsening of breathlessness intensity or unpleasantness beyond usual fluctuations in the patient's perception. Breathlessness is a common symptom in the general population with higher prevalence in older age, female sex, and chronic malignant and non-malignant conditions. Breathlessness—the uncomfortable awareness of the need to breathe—is a complex, individual experience of the mind and the body. As breathlessness is causing dysfunctional breathing with excessive accessory muscle use and upper chest dominance, readaptation of breathing patterns is essential in breathlessness management. Deconditioning due to physical activity also leads to breathlessness and peripheral muscle weakness.
