[Chronic dyspnea in cardiological patients: prevalence and etiology]

The authors analyzed the medical records of 1414 patients aged 60 +/- 14 years, who were examined in a specialized cardiological clinic within a one-year period. Among the patients, 41.2% complained of dyspnea; the number of women with dyspnea prevailed over the number of men. Dyspnea was caused by chronic heart failure in 42.2% of patients, by transient myocardial ischemia in 12.3% of patients, and by paroxysmal tachyarrhythmia in 6.3% of patients. In 45.6% of the patients, mostly in women, significant non-cardial factors were revealed: obstructive or restrictive respiratory failure (20.6%), obesity (14.7%), thyroid gland dysfunction (3.9%), pulmonary arterial thromboembolism, anemia etc. A combination of two or more etiological factors took place in 22.6% of cases. The reason for respiratory discomfort remained unclear in 21.3% of the patients, mostly women. Symptom-limited load test with gas analysis (ergospirometry) was performed in 70 patients with dyspnea of unclear origin. According to its results, in 75% of elderly patients with essential hypertension and postinfarction cardiosclerosis, who did not have significant systolic dysfunction, restrictive diastolic dysfunction, valvular disorder, or atrial fibrillation, dyspnea was caused by hyperventilation, obesity, and respiratory pathology.