★ Must-know
📌 Dyspnea may have pulmonary or non-pulmonary causes and may be acute or chronic; chest tightness or inability to take a deep breath suggests obstructive lung disease, whereas air hunger or a sense of suffocation suggests congestive heart failure.
📌 Cough is classified as acute when it lasts less than 3 weeks, subacute when it lasts 3–4 weeks, and chronic when it lasts more than 8 weeks.
📌 Wheezing suggests airway disease such as asthma or COPD, whereas stridor suggests upper-airway obstruction.
Further detail
1. In respiratory-system disease, which symptoms are considered the cardinal ones?
2. A patient reports air hunger and a sense of suffocation; which description best matches the likely dyspnea pattern?
3. How is a cough lasting exactly 3–4 weeks classified in this clinical scheme?
What are the cardinal symptoms of respiratory-system disease?
Cough and dyspnea.
What types of causes can dyspnea have?
Pulmonary or non-pulmonary causes.
What does chest tightness or inability to take a deep breath suggest?
Obstructive lung disease.
What does air hunger or a sense of suffocation suggest?
Congestive heart failure.
When is a cough classified as acute?
When it lasts less than 3 weeks.
What does wheezing suggest?
Airway disease such as asthma or COPD.
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