LEFT HEART FAILURE

LEFT HEART FAILURE The clinical picture of left heart failure is distinctive and should not be readily confused with any other condition—with one exception. Cardiac asthma is well named, since the urgent, commonly nocturnal, dyspnoea of left ventricular failure is associated with bronchospasm in a considerable proportion of cases. This may lead to confusion with bronchial asthma—a serious error which may cost the patient his life as the treatment of the two conditions is quite different. It is particularly important before administering morphine to a suspected case of left ventricular failure to ensure that the diagnosis is correct since the giving of morphine to a patient with bronchial asthma may prove fatal.
Treatment of left heart failure is a matter of great urgency. The patient may recover spontaneously from his attack or may die in the course of half an hour. Efficient remedies are available and prompt intervention may save life.