Unlike asthma, cardiac asthma is a disease that causes coughing and wheezing as a result of left heart failure.

A patient has heart failure, cough, wheezing, frothy or bloody sputum. The symptoms usually occurs at night.

The symptoms of both the conditions are same and is often misdiagnosed. Cardiac asthma usually affects elderly people and bronchial asthma is mostly found in children.

There is no well defined treatment for cardiac asthma. Medicines such as diuretics, nitroglycerin, morphine are used to manage the underlying heart problems.

You must immediately visit your healthcare provider if you develop new symptoms or the symptoms get worse. Symptoms such as – sudden weight gain, loss of appetite, swollen ankles, worsening of breathlessness, need immediate attention.

Following steps are taken to manage a patient with cardiac asthma – • Oxygen and ventilation • Medication • Lifestyle modification • Surgery

Surgical procedures such as angioplasty or coronary bypass surgery is recommended to treat the underlying heart problem, commonly heart failure.

You may have side effects such as dry cough, tiredness, headache, dizziness, nausea, loss of sleep, depression and headache.

To manage cardiac asthma – • Change your dietary habits, eat less salt • Proper sleep position (do not lay flat instead raise the head of the bed) • Be very disciplined with your medicine intake • Adopt changes that help you avoid heart problems

It becomes hard for you to breathe especially when you are lying down and the breathing becomes better when you sit or stand.

Apart from medical history and physical examination, following tests are done – • Blood test and urine test • Electrocardiogram • Chest X ray • Echocardiogram • Cardiopulmonary stress test • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) • Cardiac CT (computed tomography) • Cardiac catherization

Cardiac asthma lasts as long as there is underlying heart problem.

Call on emergency number or immediately seek emergency help if your breathlessness gets worse or you have allergic reaction to medicines.