What causes acute breathlessness with low blood pressure?
Patient: sir, my mother is 60. She is suffering from arthritis and asthma for long 30 years for which she has taken steroids for all these years. For last 5 years she has been suffering from diabetes also and her asthma revived a year back as it had been silent for all these years may be due to intake of steroids which she has left. And now recently she is diagnosed with Lvef 35% only. Now she is not taking any arthritis steroids but now she is badly suffering from asthma (beathlessness), severe cough, and low blood pressure(84/64). She has been hospitalised twice recently due to low blood pressure and acute breathlessness and recovered quite well both the times but again health deteriorates after few days.Although she is taking tretment from chest doctor as well as heart doctor but her condition is not improving especialy breathlessness. Please advise. Doctor: Thanks for your question on Healthcare Magic. I can understand your concern. Since she is having ejection fraction (EF) (heart function) only 35%, her heart is failing. She is going in recurrent heart failure. She is also having chronic, steroid dependent asthma. This also causes respiratory failure. So combination of heart and lung failure is causing her frequent episodes of breathlessness. Honestly speaking, these are not good diseases for prognosis. She is having poor prognosis. She needs diuretics, cardiac inotropic drugs and other cardiac supportive drugs along with strict control of diabetes and asthma. Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wishing good health to your mother. Thanks.