Worried

Recently my friend has complained of chest pains, difficulty in breathing & tightness in her chest,accompanied with her breaking out in cold sweat and gradually loss of sensation in her fingers and toes. we have consulted a doctor and it was diagnosied as mild asmatha, she was given some medicine to aid her in "loosening" her chest muscles to help her breathe easier, but she has not felt any better since then, now that she's down with a spell of severe dry cough, her breathing problems re-occur with increased frequency and severity. Just yesterday, when we were heading out, she suddenly complained of the same symptoms but this time she was not even able to stand up properly. She had to stop and sit down by the roadside, still having great difficulty in catching and regulating her breathing. She also complained off general weakness of her limbs and aches and pains in her neck.I'm really worried about her condition especially when the medication given to her does not seem to be addressing her problem which has since grown worse. I truly hope that you can provide a second opinion about her condition. With many Thanks for your time

[National Jewish]

It is not easy to make a diagnosis on the basis of the information that you have given. However, one of the main reasons for having a sensation of shortness of breath, the sweating, the sensation of tingling in the fingers etc is hyperventilation. This is only one of several causes of this type of problem. Irrespective of the cause, this seems like a significant problem and needs further evaluation by her physician.

[lore]

I recently saw a situation where the person thought she had asthma and people were treating her for asthma.  She got wheezing and shortness of breath.

But she really had cardiac asthma, which isn't really asthma at all.  It is when the left ventricle of the heart is not working right, otherwise known as congestive heart failure.

Cardiac asthma is treated ENTIRELY DIFFERENT than asthma.  In fact standard asthma treatments will not work.

For cardiac asthma you need a diuretic and things to help the heart.

Possibly she could ask her doctor if she has been worked up for *cardiac asthma.*  Also she could look it up on the internet and see if the picture fits her.