Quality of Life in Elderly Dyspnea Patients

Abstract:

Dyspnea is a subjective term. Psychosocial or cultural parameters may influence the reaction of individuals to a certain sensation of breathing discomfort. The context in which dyspnea occurs can also impact its perception. Most of underlying diseases of dyspnea are progressive, frustrating and debilitating and their influence permeates every aspect of the patient’s life. In most elderly patients with chronic dyspnea, the specific cause of the dyspnea is usually elusive and because of coexistence of multiple causes a specific treatment is not available; so treatment should be aimed at symptom relief.

Research literature concerning dyspnea as a symptom in the elderly is scarce, although much has been written about specific diseases that may cause dyspnea, especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic heart failure (CHF). As the prevalence of these conditions increases with advancing age, dyspnea becomes an important cause of decrease in quality of life and morbidity in the elderly. To get a better view of this impact we need standardized means to quantify dyspnea. There are several objective instruments available to measure dyspnea. Much of them focus on quantifying the functional consequences of dyspnea, such as decreased activity, which have the potential to dramatically impact quality of life and translate into impairment and disability.

In this chapter diagnostic procedures and measurement of dyspnea and its consequences are discussed. Furthermore, current evidence based effective methods to manage and rehabilitate elderly patient with dyspnea are summarized.

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