Overview of Breathing Muscle Weakness in Neuromuscular Disease (NMD)
Title: Overview of Breathing Muscle Weakness in Neuromuscular Disease (NMD)
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025
Time: 1 PM CST / 2 PM EST
Speaker:
Andrea Klein
Webinar Overview:
An introduction to the concepts of breathing and coughing muscle weakness, this presentation highlights the importance of medical self-advocacy to ensure positive outcomes. Topics include the role of muscles in breathing, the relevance of blood gases, the evaluation process, appropriate interventions, and more.
Speaker Biography
Andrea Klein
Founder & President – Breathe with MD, Inc.
Having earned a Bachelor of Science in English-Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations from Tennessee Technological University in 1996, Andrea has worked in the healthcare IT field for nearly 25 years. She is co-author of a chapter in the textbook “Non-Invasive Ventilation and Weaning: Principles and Practice, Second Edition,” published in 2018. She served as Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee 2017 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ms. Wheelchair America 2018 competition.
She founded Breathe with MD, Inc. in memory of her middle sister, Cheryl Lewis, who died because of inappropriate care for neuromuscular respiratory failure. Andrea has a passion for educating others about breathing muscle weakness and the importance of medical self-advocacy. She developed and implemented Breathe with MD’s “Breathing Muscle Weakness 101” online course, which has enrolled nearly 250 participants in the last two years.
Andrea lives with Intermediate Collagen 6 Congenital Muscular Dystrophy and has used non-invasive ventilation since 2013 and mechanical cough assistance since 2014.