Complex Breathlessness

Edited by James H. Hull and Jemma Haines
Complex breathlessness (breathlessness with an unclear cause or that appears disproportionate to underlying causes) is an important and often neglected condition that presents a challenge to both patients and clinicians. This Monograph aims to provide clinicians at all levels with a comprehensive guide to complex breathlessness. Covering all aspects of this challenging clinical scenario, it will prove a useful resource when faced with a symptomatic breathless patient with no obvious underlying cause or with disproportionate symptoms. Several less commonly considered clinical entities and their associated features are highlighted, and approaches to breathlessness management are suggested in the absence of a clear diagnosis or set of abnormalities on investigation.

Contents list

Background
1. The epidemiology of breathlessness
2. The neuroscience of breathlessness
3. The physiology of breathlessness

Assessment
4. Tools for assessing complex breathlessness
5. A systematic approach to assessing complex breathlessness

Airway-focused
6. Laryngeal considerations in complex breathlessness
7. Breathlessness in large airway collapse

Thoracic cage-/breathing pattern-focused 
8. Breathing pattern disorder

Allergy-related issues
9. Complex breathlessness: allergic factors

Cardiopulmonary vascular-focused
10. Pulmonary vascular causes of complex breathlessness: exercise pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary veno-occlusive disease and pre-load failure
11. Cardiovascular causes of complex breathlessness

Neural dysfunction
12. Complex breathlessness in postural tachycardia syndrome and autonomic dysfunction

Behavioural components
13. Complex breathlessness: assessment of treatment adherence and treatable traits

Management
14. Challenges in the approach to the management of complex or unexplained breathlessness
15. The management of chronic breathlessness

Print ISBN: 978-1-84984-151-1
eISBN: 978-1-84984-152-8
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-84984-153-5