Heart, respiratory rates speed up days before death in cancer patients
21 Dec 2021
byTristan Manalac
Respiratory rate, heart rate, and apnoea counts become more frequent during the last two weeks of life in cancer patients, according to a recent study. Such changes in vital signs may prove valuable for predicting impending death, especially with the help of monitoring devices, though potential modifying effects of opioid use need to be taken into consideration.