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Suggest Treatment For Shortness Of Breath And Tiredness
my mother is 78 years old and her symptons are shortness of breath, weak and tired feeling She is falling asleep after each meal at the table. She has pain going up and down her neck and she complains about feeling jittery and shivering. Her condition is getting worst. What can I do to help?
Fri, 7 Oct 2016
Hello.
Your mother seems to have a heart condition possibly slowly developing heart failure due to decreased blood supply to the heart muscles. It is more likely if she also suffers from other co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol levels.
Her symptoms of breathlessness and tiredness are suggestive of the same. Falling asleep during day time may be as a result of inadequate sleep during the night if she has paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea i.e. a condition caused by the heart issue wherein the person becomes breathless after sleeping for 2-3 hours and has to get up and keep sitting up or standing for a few minutes before it is relieved. Pain in the neck seems to be angina which indicates decreased blood supply to the heart muscles. This is more likely if she also has swelling of the feet.
In such patients, I generally advise an ECG and an Electrocardiogram in addition to tests to rule out any infectious cause like pneumonia. Elevated blood BNP levels also indicate heart failure. If there are any abnormalities in the ECG or echocardiogram, she needs to be started on measures to control her heart failure - most of the times it can be done by tablets but if it is severe, she needs to be hospitalised and given medicines through an intravenous line. her cardiologist may suggest an angioplasty if she has any blocks in her blood vessels.
Wishing her a speedy recovery.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
Your mother seems to have a heart condition possibly slowly developing heart failure due to decreased blood supply to the heart muscles. It is more likely if she also suffers from other co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol levels.
Her symptoms of breathlessness and tiredness are suggestive of the same. Falling asleep during day time may be as a result of inadequate sleep during the night if she has paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea i.e. a condition caused by the heart issue wherein the person becomes breathless after sleeping for 2-3 hours and has to get up and keep sitting up or standing for a few minutes before it is relieved. Pain in the neck seems to be angina which indicates decreased blood supply to the heart muscles. This is more likely if she also has swelling of the feet.
In such patients, I generally advise an ECG and an Electrocardiogram in addition to tests to rule out any infectious cause like pneumonia. Elevated blood BNP levels also indicate heart failure. If there are any abnormalities in the ECG or echocardiogram, she needs to be started on measures to control her heart failure - most of the times it can be done by tablets but if it is severe, she needs to be hospitalised and given medicines through an intravenous line. her cardiologist may suggest an angioplasty if she has any blocks in her blood vessels.
Wishing her a speedy recovery.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
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