文档介绍：Journal of the American College of Cardiology Vol. 41, No. 2, 2003
© 2003 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation ISSN 0735-1097/03/$
Published by Elsevier Science Inc. PII S0735-1097(02)02717-1
Avoidance of the Left Lateral Decubitus
Position During Sleep in Patients With Heart
Failure: Relationship to Cardiac Size and Function
Richard S. T. Leung, MD,*‡ Michael E. Bowman, BSC,* John D. Parker, MD,† Gary E. Newton, MD,†
T. Douglas Bradley, MD*‡
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OBJECTIVES We sought to determine whether patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) avoid the left
lateral decubitus (LLD) position during sleep and, if so, whether this avoidance would be
more pronounced in those with greater degrees of cardiomegaly.
BACKGROUND Anecdotal reports suggest that, in patients with CHF, the LLD position is associated with
discomfort due to the enlarged apical heart beat and greater degree of dyspnea (trepopnea)
than other positions. It has also been suggested that the LLD position is associated with
increased sympathetic nervous activity.
METHODS A total of 75 patients with CHF and