What is the health problem that Maria Teresa Campos suffers from Acute Respiratory Failure?

Since news broke of Maria Teresa Campos’ admission to the hospital, many have worried about her health.The popular and beloved 82-year-old journalist is admitted to the Jiménez Díaz Foundation Hospital in Madrid, which A statement has been issued stating the reason: A photo of acute respiratory failure, a serious setback given his fragile health.

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We wonder what are the health problems that the famous presenter suffers from?as the doctor explained Jose Miguel Rodriguez Gonzalez MoroDirector of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Universidad Hospital of Visas Aravaca, La Mira Grossa and Arturo Soria in Madrid, “is the function of the respiratory system to exchange gases between the environment and the blood (oxygen and carbon dioxide) Acute failure occurs (rapid onset) and translates into a lack of oxygen in the blood, which leads to a lack of oxygen in the tissues. In some cases, carbon dioxide cannot be eliminated. This is a potentially serious condition, not a disease per se , but the result of: Various diseases (eg asthma, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, poisoning, etc.)

Eusebi China, The pulmonologist and director of the Separ Patient Center details, “Acute respiratory failure is basically a failure of the respiratory system, which consists of the lungs and the circulatory system, as the lungs deliver oxygen to the blood and eliminate carbon dioxide. Impossible, Acute respiratory failure occurs when there is a lack of oxygen for various reasons, or when carbon dioxide cannot be removed. This is the failure of the lung system organ

it is logically helped by the circulatory system, which is the system that transports oxygen to the body through the blood.

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what are the reasons

One of the questions that arises is why this medical condition occurs and what ultimately triggers this health problem. “Acute respiratory failure has several causes. It may be caused by primary lung failure, for example, due to infection, due to pneumonia, as the lungs are occupied by secretions or the infection itself, oxygen does not reach the lungs properly and therefore does not reach the blood.Other reasons, for example, may be heart failure It also clogs the lungs, filling them with fluid or exudate, which prevents the correct arrival of oxygen to the body and its distribution to the tissues”, explains the specialist from the Spanish Society of Respiratory and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR).

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But it emphasizes that there are other causes of exacerbation of acute or chronic respiratory failure, like COPDloss of some lung function due to other causes such as smoking and air pollution.

“also have asthma Acute respiratory failure may occur because the lungs close, the bronchi constrict, and oxygen cannot properly reach the blood.There are other causes that do not depend on the lungs, such as respiratory muscle failure, as happens in certain neuromuscular disorders such as muscle weakness or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, sometimes the muscles fail to function as a breathing pump, causing the muscles to weaken and the patient unable to breathe normally. It can also occur in the following situations: Oxygen will fail at a certain altitudeFrom 1,500 meters onwards, the oxygen in the environment has been reduced, and as a result, respiratory failure may worsen in patients with respiratory diseases,” details Dr. Chiner, who also cites possible reasons some disorders that may occur in the chest cavity, such as thoracic deformity scoliosis or severe kyphosis, or sometimes both. “For example, pneumonia, kyphoscoliosis, muscle weakness, and protein-deficiency myopathy can co-produce acute or exacerbated chronic respiratory failure without a single cause, resulting in multiple causes occurring at the same time,” he said. clarify.

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what are your symptoms

For acute respiratory failure, when it occurs due to a primary process such as pneumonia, Dr. Chiner details that, among the possible symptoms, there may beFever (can last several days), coughing up sputum, feeling short of breath or having trouble breathing. “There may be other major symptoms such as weakness, wanting to sleep for example, and most importantly, a feeling that you can’t breathe normally. Sometimes, in patients with pre-existing respiratory diseases and chronic respiratory failure, when oxygen has been depleted in some way Or not getting right, the symptoms could be exactly the tendency to sleep, with fatigue, shortness of breath or even inversion of the sleep rhythm, sleepiness during the day, and even incoherent speech The carbon dioxide in the blood starts to rise, which can have an effect almost like intoxication .Essentially, the patient you feel like you can’t breathe and feel very weak Depends on the main reason,” he elaborated.

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Differences from Chronic Process

How is it different from a chronic pathology? “In chronic cases, the body activates motion compensation mechanisms to increase tolerance to respiratory failure situations,” Vesas experts told us.

How to treat acute respiratory failure

“First, the underlying disease must be treated (antibiotics for pneumonia, diuretics, vasodilators for heart failure…). Respiratory failure itself can be treated with oxygen therapy and, in more severe cases, non-invasive mechanical ventilation (without intubation ) ) or have already entered the ICU by intubating the patient”, predicts Dr. Rodríguez González-Moro.

The director of Separ Pacientes agrees The main treatment is oxygen, which will try to restore important functionality. “Today we have saturation devices, and while they don’t measure blood oxygen pressure directly, they are an indirect way of measuring hemoglobin saturation, the oxygen attached to the blood, which is effective in maintaining vital functions. Oxygen therapy is important, but the solution The root cause is equally important. At the same time, we will have to use antibiotics.In case of pneumonia we must take diuretics.In the case of cardiac causes, we even have to provide a condition called Mechanical Ventilation, which can be non-invasive, help patients breathe through a mask, providing external force for possible pump failure. We use it especially in patients with decompensated COPD. Also in some severe pneumonia, we have been using it in patients with severe COVID-19 infection and patients with neuromuscular disease,” he commented, adding that while the etiology is being treated with specific therapies, it can also resort to fluid therapy support, ie hydration, corticosteroids in some cases

There are also medicines that can help us.

“The fundamental thing is oxygen therapy in different forms of administration, whether low-flow or even high-flow systems, or combined with non-invasive mechanical ventilation. In some severe cases, we will have to resort to intubation and ventilation mechanics, when When one of the most serious situations occurs, namely acute respiratory distress. While the cause of this has been addressed, it can lead to invasive mechanical ventilation, which we know is performed in intensive care units or intermediate respiratory care units, which have been very important in Spain over the years and are being The growing number of institutions is more thanks to the impetus of the Spanish Society of Respiratory and Thoracic Surgery,” commented Dr Chiner.

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Avoid possible complications

During hospitalization, we must also do our best to prevent complications that may be related to this health problem. Among these, the presence of thrombus, pneumothorax or lung collapse, infection or pulmonary fibrosis must be highlighted.