Cardiac Asthma in Elderly Patients
Author Information
Author(s): Jorge Stéphane, Becquemin Marie-Hélène, Delerme Samuel, Bennaceur Mohamed, Isnard Richard, Achkar Rony, Riou Bruno, Boddaert Jacques, Ray Patrick
Primary Institution: Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire (CHU) Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance-Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP)
Hypothesis
What are the characteristics and outcomes of cardiac asthma compared to classical congestive heart failure in elderly patients?
Conclusion
Cardiac asthma represents one third of CHF in elderly patients, with similar outcomes to classical CPE despite more hypercapnia and distal airway obstruction.
Supporting Evidence
- Cardiac asthma patients had a higher frequency of tobacco use and COPD.
- Patients with cardiac asthma had lower pH and higher PaCO2 at admission.
- Cardiac asthma patients experienced greater distal airway obstruction.
- In-hospital and one-year mortality rates were similar between groups.
Takeaway
Cardiac asthma is when older patients with heart failure also have wheezing. Even though they have more breathing problems, they do just as well as those without wheezing.
Methodology
A prospective study conducted in an emergency department of a teaching hospital, comparing patients with cardiac asthma to those with classical CHF.
Potential Biases
Potential misclassification of CHF as the primary event due to lack of objective criteria for wheezing.
Limitations
The study relied on clinical diagnosis without objective criteria for cardiac asthma, and previous spirometry data were not available.
Participant Demographics
Patients aged ≥ 65 years, with a mean age of 82 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95% CI: 1.61–6.58
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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