Existential aspects of breathlessness in serious disease.

Purpose Of The Review: Breathlessness may evoke existential threat but may also affect the person with serious illness or their caregiver/s in other important ways which can be considered 'existential'. This review explores existential aspects of breathlessness in people with serious illness and presents recent studies of assessment and management of associated distress and suffering.

Recent Findings: Both existential distress and breathlessness are multidimensional and include a range of constructs, many of which have behavioural consequences.