A patient admitted to the hospital with an exacerbation of chronic heart failure tells the nurse, "I felt fine when I went to bed, but I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I was suffocating!" The nurse can best document this assessment information as

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea is caused by the reabsorption of fluid from dependent body areas when the patient is sleeping and is characterized by waking up suddenly with the feeling of suffocation. Pulsus alternans is the alternation of strong and weak peripheral pulses during palpation. Orthopnea indicates that the patient is unable to lie flat because of dyspnea. Pleural effusions develop over a longer time period.

A Patient Admitted to the Hospital with an Exacerbation of Chronic