Breathlessness in elderly may not always be due to lung disease

Dyspnea often indicates coronary artery disease in the elderly. Sometimes there may not be any chest pain in elderly and breathlessness may be the sole presentation of a heart attack. Atypical symptoms like confusion, weakness, and worsening heart failure complicate diagnosis. Silent myocardial infarctions, lacking typical chest pain, are also more common and have a worse prognosis.