Systems and methods obtain information that allows detection of whether a patient suffers from congestion b y monitoring a response of the patient to a recumbent position of the patients body. The patient may be monitored to determine a respiration pattern for a non-recumbent position such as standing and a respiration pattern for a recumbent position such as lying down. The two patterns may be compared, either by a processing device or a physician, to determine a difference in the two respiration patterns. Furthermore, the congestion may be inferred from detecting an amount of time that the patient spends in a recumbent position or from detecting the recumbent angle that the patient obtains, either of which is presumed to indicate whether a recumbent position presents discomfort to the patient due to the presence of congestion. The device includes a reclination sensor (202), a respiration sensor (208), a processor (206), a memory (212) and telemetry means (214).
