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LTC Richard J. McCarty, MC, USA

Am J Dis Child. 1970;120(3):258-259.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Many cardiac patients complain that they are unable to lie on their left side, or less often on their right side, because of shortness of breath, unusual awareness of the heart beat, palpitation, or pain. Wood and Wolferth¹ called attention to this fact in 1937 and studied 52 cardiac patients who exhibited a distinct preference for lying on one side. They offered the term trepopnea (Greek "trepein" to turn + "pnoia" breath—Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 23rd edition), at the suggestion of Dr. Richard A. Kern, to express this complaint. Although physicians caring for an adult population frequently encounter complaints consistent with trepopnea, the recognition of such a preference in the pediatric group is rare. In a cardiology practice that includes a large number of pediatric patients, I have recently observed trepopnea for the first time. Its manifestation and clinical implications will be discussed in this brief report.

Report of . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
El Paso, Tex

From the Cardiology Service, Department of Medicine, Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco.

Footnotes
Received for publication May 1, 1970.

Reprint requests to PO Box 668, William Beaumont General Hospital, El Paso, Tex 79920 (Dr. McCarty).

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