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Content is anchored to trusted sources where available, but Compass has not yet been clinically reviewed. It provides general information rather than medical advice.

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Breathing and ventilation

Orthopnoea

Breathlessness that comes on when you lie flat and eases when you sit up.

What it means

Lying down puts the weight of the abdomen against the main breathing muscle. When that muscle is weak, breathing gets harder flat and easier propped up. People often notice it first as needing more pillows, or as sleeping in a chair.

Why you might hear it

  • It is one of the things a team asks about when deciding whether to check breathing.
  • It may appear in a clinic letter describing why NIV was raised.

People who may help

Where Compass goes into this

About this explanation

These are plain explanations of words you may come across, not advice about your own situation. Where a word matters to a decision, the question pages go into it properly, and your own team is the place to take it.