| Cardiac asthma is wheezing due to congestive heart | | | | disorders, such as asthma, chronic obstructive |
| failure and in the true sense it is not asthma. Clinically | | | | pulmonary disease, pneumonia or acute respiratory |
| it is a condition caused by severe reflexive blocking | | | | distress syndrome. Treatment is directed at |
| and or by edema of the lungs. It is an asthmatic-type | | | | improving the pump function of the heart along with |
| breathing caused by sudden blockage of the | | | | medications. |
| pulmonary circulation. The bronchial spasm in cardiac | | | | Treatments mainly focus on controlling the night |
| asthma is caused by back pressure from the left side | | | | coughs, control of the edema, control of inflow load |
| of the heart to the lungs. Symptomatically cardiac | | | | and the amount of residual blood in the left ventricle. |
| asthma is quite similar to lung asthma. | | | | Diuretics (water pills) free the lungs of excess fluid |
| Patients with heart failure or heart valves that do not | | | | and other medications such as morphines, nitrates |
| open properly experience shortness of breath not | | | | help the heart muscles pump more effectively. The |
| necessarily accompanied by wheezing, coughing, | | | | wheezing gradually stops when the heart failure has |
| increased rapid and superficial breathing, increased | | | | been well controlled. |
| blood pressure and heart beat rate and a feeling of | | | | In some patients who suffer from asthma and heart |
| uneasiness. Symptoms usually occur with exercise or | | | | failure simultaneously, treatment is required for both |
| at night after going to bed. Cardiac asthma is usually | | | | conditions. A combination of bronchodilators, |
| due to a major mechanical fault of the heart. The | | | | supplementary oxygen is generally effective in |
| reduced pumping efficacy of the heart leads to a | | | | controlling the asthmatic symptoms in addition to |
| build up of fluid in the lungs. This build up of the fluid | | | | treating heart failure in such patients. Corticosteroids |
| causes the air passages to narrow up and eventually | | | | are prescribed only when the patient with acute |
| cause wheezing and other related symptoms. It is a | | | | cardiac asthma has not responded well to initial |
| life-threatening condition and one must seek medical | | | | therapy. Corticosteroids usually take long hours to |
| advice immediately on experiencing any symptoms. | | | | give peak effect. If the asthma is caused by a heart |
| The key to effective management of cardiac asthma | | | | valve that is not working properly or a hole between |
| is right diagnosis, which includes differentiation | | | | the heart chambers, surgery or other procedures |
| between patients who wheeze only due to acute | | | | may be suggested. |
| heart failure and those who wheeze from other | | | | |