What are the causes and symptoms of respiratory failure?
Several different abnormalities of breathing function can cause respiratory failure. The major categories, with specific examples of each, are: • Obstruction of the airways. Examples are chronic bronchitis with heavy secretions; emphysema; cystic fibrosis; asthma (a condition in which it is very hard to get air in and out through narrowed breathing tubes). • Weak breathing. This can be caused by drugs or alcohol, which depress the respiratory center; extreme obesity; or sleep apnea, where patients stop breathing for long periods while sleeping. • Muscle weakness. This can be caused by a muscle disease called myasthenia; muscular dystrophy; polio; a stroke that paralyzes the respiratory muscles; injury of the spinal cord; or Lou Gehrig’s disease. • Lung diseases, including severe pneumonia. Pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs, can be the source of respiratory failure. Also, it can often be a result of heart disease; respiratory distress syndrome; pulmonary fibrosis and other scarring
