What does hyperpnoea mean?
Hyperpnoea is a medical term for unusually deep breathing, often accompanied by an increased breathing rate. It can occur when the body is compensating for changes in blood chemistry, particularly increased acidity, and it may also appear in respiratory conditions. The word is most often used by clinicians when describing a patient's breathing pattern, rather than in everyday conversation. It should not be confused with tachypnoea, which primarily means rapid breathing without necessarily indicating that the breaths are deep, or with eupnoea, which means normal breathing. Recognizing hyperpnoea can be important because it may signal a significant underlying problem. The term is especially associated with conditions such as diabetic ketoacidosis and other forms of metabolic acidosis, although it is not specific to any single illness.
nounAbnormally deep and often rapid breathing, typically associated with conditions such as metabolic acidosis or respiratory alkalosis.
- Abnormally deep and often rapid breathing, usually as a clinical sign or symptom.
"The patient's deep, rapid breathing suggested hyperpnoea and required urgent medical assessment."
"Her breathing became increasingly hyperpnoemic during the examination."
"The clinician recognized hyperpnoea as a possible sign of diabetic ketoacidosis."
The plural is used in clinical and academic writing but is less common than the singular.
"Severe hyperpnoeas were observed in several patients during the trial."
Hyperpnoea is the body's breathing clue in a medical emergency: the breaths become unusually deep as the body tries to correct an acid–base imbalance.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hyperpnoea come from?
Hyperpnoea comes from Greek hyper-, meaning “over” or “excessively,” and pnoia, related to pnéō, “to breathe.” The word literally conveys “excessive breathing.” The related English word pnoea uses the same Greek breathing root, while terms such as hyperthermia and hypertension share the hyper- element.
How hyperpnoea is actually used
This is chiefly a clinical term, used in medicine and related health sciences. It is more specific than simply saying that someone is breathing quickly, because depth as well as rate may be abnormal.
Easily confused with hyperpnoea
Tachypnoea means abnormally rapid breathing, often with shallow breaths, whereas hyperpnoea specifically emphasizes unusually deep breathing.
Eupnoea is normal, effortless breathing, while hyperpnoea is abnormally deep or excessive breathing.