查看文章

Dyspnea is the most common symptom experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). To avoid exertional dyspnea, many patients adopt a sedentary lifestyle which predictably leads to extensive skeletal muscle deconditioning, social isolation, and its negative psychological sequalae. This “dyspnea spiral” is well documented and it is no surprise that alleviation of this distressing symptom has become a key objective highlighted across COPD guidelines. In reality, this important goal is often difficult to achieve, and successful symptom management awaits a clearer understanding of the underlying mechanisms of dyspnea and how these can be therapeutically manipulated for the patients’ benefit. Current theoretical constructs of the origins of activity-related dyspnea generally endorse the classical demand–capacity imbalance theory. Thus, it is believed that disruption of the normally …