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Cardiac Asthma: Inside and Out

A not-so common term, you don't hear much about cardiac asthma these days. People in earlier times mistook this disease with pulmonary edema or fluid in the lungs and only in recent times has it become clear that a cardiac asthma can occur even without having that fluid in the lungs.

Cardiac asthma, in many situations, is a clinical condition brought about by severe reflexive blocking and may be by edema of the lungs. It is an asthmatic-type breathing caused by sudden blockage of the pulmonary circulation.

Both cardiac asthma and pulmonary edema are symptoms of coming heart failure. Both situations are related and have similar consequences. They usually work in conjunction with one another. It is a life-threatening condition and you should seek medical advice immediately if you see or experience any symptoms.

Internal Complications and Problems

Cardiac asthma is usually due to a major mechanical fault of the heart and may pose to be life threatening rapidly. It usually occurs when the left part of the heart has a disproportion between its work load and work capacity suddenly. This inconsistency leads to many disorders, one of which is this cardiac asthma.

With this asthma, the reduced pumping effectiveness of the heart leads to a build up of the fluid in the lungs. This build up of the fluid causes the air passages to narrow up and eventually cause wheezing and other symptoms.

External Complications - Symptoms

Many people think that cardiac asthma is the same as various other primary diseases of the lungs which cause wheezing or panting. This is wrong. This type of asthma can and should be distinguished by clinical tests.

The easiest way to distinguish cardiac asthma from other types of asthmas is through the symptoms. Some of the main symptoms are shortness of breath with or without wheezing, increased rapid and shallow breathing, increased blood pressure and heart rate, and a feeling of uneasiness.

Other than that, in certain cases, cardiac asthma causes people to wake up breathless after a few hours after sleeping, and have to sit upright to properly breathe again. This is due to lying down too long. When people with this disease do so, the fluid can accumulate in the lungs and lead to shortness of breath. Not stopping there, this disease also causes swollen ankles which worsen rapidly.

It is very important to distinguish this disease from others and give the proper medications and treatments, which are mainly focused on controlling the night coughs, control of the edema, control of inflow load and the amount of residual blood in the left ventricle -- and so on. If experience any of the above symptoms or you simply start to have any difficulty breathing -- you should make it a point to consult your doctor immediately.