Chemosensitivity and Perception of Dyspnea in Patients with a History of Near-Fatal Asthma

Concern about deaths from asthma is increasing 1 – 3 . Most of the deaths are avoidable if patients are adequately treated 3 , 4 . However, adequate treatment requires clarification of the mechanisms by which fatal or near-fatal attacks develop and identification of the risk factors for these attacks. Although there have been many epidemiologic studies of fatal or near-fatal asthma, 4 – 7 there have been few studies of the mechanisms underlying life-threatening attacks 1 . One report 8 suggested that respiratory arrest, not cardiac arrest, may be the principal cause of death during an attack. The precise mechanisms of life-threatening attacks, however, were not elucidated . . .