TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Anesthetic Management of the Parturient With Respiratory Disease A1 - Tonidandel, Ashley M. A1 - Booth, Jessica L. A2 - Santos, Alan C. A2 - Epstein, Jonathan N. A2 - Chaudhuri, Kallol PY - 2015 T2 - Obstetric Anesthesia AB - A majority of women experience subjective breathlessness during pregnancy. This complicates the diagnosis of true respiratory pathology. “Dyspnea of pregnancy” is likely related to normal physiologic alterations, summarized in Table 26-1, that serve to maintain the fetus and prepare the mother for labor and delivery.1 The dyspnea associated with pregnancy does not interfere with activities of daily living and is not related to exertion, coughing, or wheezing. Physiologic dyspnea usually improves as pregnancy progresses, particularly with “quickening,” which is defined as the maternal perception of initial fetal movement. In contrast, pathologic dyspnea from cardiac or pulmonary origins may have an abrupt onset, be progressive in its severity, occur even at rest, or be associated with cough, chest pain, fever, or hemoptysis. Dyspnea due to cardiac or respiratory pathology worsens as the pregnancy reaches the third trimester. Pregnant women with a respiratory rate greater than 20 breaths/min, increased work of breathing, or the presence of rales, wheezing, or murmurs deserve prompt evaluation for potential cardiopulmonary pathology.2 SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/10/09 UR - accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1108524496 ER -