Paroxysmal dyspnea in Parkinson's disease: Respiratory dyskinesias and autonomic hyperventilation are not the same

Abstract

Respiratory complaints are not uncommon in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). While many are explained by pulmonary and cardiovascular problems unrelated to PD, secondary effects of PD, such as kyphoscoliosis, respiratory muscle rigidity, repeated pneumonias, or side effects of medication such as dyskinesias, there is a small group of patients with paroxysmal dyspnea for whom neither anxiety or other explanation has been found. This Point of View was written to call attention to this neglected, uncommon, but very distressing symptom.

Keywords: Autonomic dysfunction; Autonomic dyspnea; Hyperventilation; Parkinson's disease; Paroxysmal dyspnea; Respiratory dyskinesias.