I saw a middle-aged man in my office the other day for evaluation of shortness of breath (dyspnea, we call it in the medical world). He came with his wife, who was obviously quite concerned about him and who did most of the talking during the appointment. His primary doctor had already ordered a thorough panel of studies and they’d all come back normal. The EKG showed normal rhythm; the echocardiogram confirmed that the heart strength was good and that all the valves functioned appropriately; and the nuclear stress scan ruled out the possibility of significant high-grade coronary obstruction. Still, his symptoms persisted. He found himself panting with even low levels of exertion such as walking up a flight of … Continue reading
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