Precipitation and Termination of Asthmatic Attack by Intense Anxiety

Abstract

Asthma is one of the most common chronic non-communicable diseases, and characterized by airflow obstruction with variable respiratory symptoms and variable airflow limitation. Several risk factors that predispose to asthma and several triggers which are environmental factors that worsen asthma in a patient with established disease have been identified. Psychological factors can induce bronchoconstriction, and many asthmatics report worsening symptoms with stress and anxiety. We describe a patient with bronchial asthma who developed a severe asthmatic attack in response to intense anxiety. As the asthmatic attack became more severe, also the anxiety became more intense and progressed to a hysterical attack with loss of consciousness. This was followed, almost immediately, by termination of her asthmatic attack. To the best of our knowledge, no similar case has been previously reported.




J Med Cases. 2018;9(7):226-228
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3092w