Lack of awareness surrounding exercise-induced paradoxical vocal fold movement (PVFM) as a cause of dyspnea may contribute to athletes being misdiagnosed and improperly treated.
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May 2009Patients are often mistakenly diagnosed with asthma and treated with inhalers, which are not effective in PVFM, explained Natasha Mirza, MD, Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Penn Voice and Swallowing Center, and Chief of the Division of Otolaryngology at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Fortunately, a variety of effective treatment options exist for treating PVFM.
Characteristics of PVFM
PVFM, often triggered by exercise, is a condition in which the vocal folds don’t open properly causing dyspnea, explained Jonathan Aviv, MD, FACS, Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Director of the Division of Laryngology, and Medical Director of the Voice and Swallowing Center at Columbia University Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital.