A patient who has chronic heart failure tells the nurse, "I was fine when I went to bed, but I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I was suffocating!" The nurse will document this assessment finding as
a. orthopnea.
b. pulsus alternans.
c. paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea.
d. acute bilateral pleural effusion.
ANS: C
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.
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