This article was professionally consulted by Tran Thi Diem Trang, MD - Respiratory Internal Medicine Doctor from Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital's Department of Examination and Internal Medicine.
Cardiac asthma is different from common asthma. If it is not distinguished from bronchial asthma, wrong treatment might have catastrophic consequences for the patient's health. To receive the appropriate treatment, patients must be able to distinguish between bronchial asthma and cardiac asthma.
1. Distinguishing between bronchial and cardiac asthma
In reality, we can distinguish between bronchial asthma and cardiac asthma by some major characteristics such as:
Pathogenesis:
- Cardiac asthma is a disease characterized by cardiovascular pathology such as hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and coronary artery disease.
- Bronchial asthma is a disease characterized by chronic, recurring dyspnea and an increased risk of flare-ups and relapses when exposed to allergens.
Signs:
- Patients with cardiac asthma will experience unexpected dyspnea, which is more common at night, and shortness of breath. Meanwhile, bronchial asthma symptoms include abrupt dyspnea but slow breathing, wheezing, and a sensation of suffocation in the patient's chest.
- Furthermore, cardiac asthma symptoms include dry cough and cough that produces mucus or pink foam. And coughing up with a little bit of white sticky phlegm is common in asthma. If asthma is associated with an infectious condition, there may be mucus or bloody mucus.
- Patients with cardiac asthma exhibit clinical symptoms of heart failure, such as rapidly increasing blood pressure. Whereas patients with bronchial asthma have normal blood pressure.
- Sweating, cyanosis, rapid pulse, abnormally high blood pressure that is difficult to control are symptoms of cardiac asthma. In addition, when examining the lungs, there are wet rales in the base of the lungs and other signs of heart failure. In asthma, the patient may or may not have symptoms such as sweating. During an acute asthma, the patient may not have cyanosis and the blood pressure remains normal or may increase slightly.
Paraclinical testing:
- When the patient is examined, such as auscultation of the lungs, there will be moist rales at the lower lobes for people with cardiac asthma. Besides, if the lungs are wheezing and snoring, it is a sign of bronchial asthma.
- An X-ray of a patient with cardiac asthma can reveal infiltration in both lung hilums in the shape of butterfly wings, redistribution of pulmonary circulation, and an enlarged heart shadow. Patients with bronchial asthma will have normal X-ray results.
Age of disease:
- Cardiac asthma is frequent in the elderly, although those with bronchial asthma are more likely to develop in young people.
- Elderly adults with heart failure have a reduced ability to contract and discharge blood, resulting in pulmonary congestion. This is the primary cause of cardiac asthma. Therefore, In elderly people, when there are signs of cough, wheezing, and increasing shortness of breath combined with heart failure, it is necessary to immediately think of cardiac asthma and treat it as soon as possible.
Treatment: To treat cardiac or bronchial asthma, the patient must be properly diagnosed.
- The primary principle of treating cardiac asthma is to increase the heart's ability to pump blood and discharge stagnant blood from the lungs. Surgery and percutaneous intervention are treatment methods that should be considered in case of cardiac asthma caused by a valve or congenital diseases with a shunt between the heart chambers.
- To effectively treat bronchial asthma, the ideal strategy is to prevent recurrence by preventive treatment, in addition to early treatment of acute bronchial asthma.
2. Asthma screening
Early asthma screening is extremely important and necessary for anyone, especially for those with suspected symptoms such as:
- Having wheezing or recurrent wheezing.
- Frequent coughing, especially at night or early morning, causing awakening
- Having cough or wheezing after physical activity
- Having persistent shortness of breath in a certain season of the year.
- Having cough, wheezing or difficulty breathing after exposure to respiratory allergens (house dust, mold, etc.) or irritants (paint, oil, perfume, etc.)
- Having had a cold that led to pneumonia or lasted more than 10 days.
- Having been diagnosed with asthma but not clearly.
Currently, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital has an Asthma Screening Package to help detect the disease early for timely control and treatment, and perform clinical examinations, medical history, respiratory function measurements, Ear, nose, and throat examinations, and asthma screening.
Vinmec Times City's team of highly qualified and experienced doctors; fully equipped with specialized equipment to diagnose, determine the cause of asthma and stage before treatment; quick examination time, thorough consultation, easy compliance with treatment management, helping patients feel secure in examination and treatment.
See more: Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of asthma
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