A Chronic Cough That Wasn’t Allergies: How Heart Failure Was Missed with Dana Amore

On this episode of My Allergist Dad, Drew and Dr. Z are joined by Dana Amore, a patient with a chronic cough that worsened over 6–12 months despite asthma testing, allergy testing, a chest CT, and an endoscopy. During the endoscopy, an abnormal EKG revealed a left bundle branch block, prompting urgent follow-up, an echocardiogram, and an unexpected hospital stay for heart failure; after treatment with multiple medications and diuretics, Dana’s cough and unrecognized shortness of breath resolved and her ejection fraction improved. Dr. Z explains how chronic cough and shortness of breath can be mistaken for asthma or allergies, what heart failure means physiologically, why symptoms can be subtle and progressive, and how testing like methacholine challenge helps rule out asthma, emphasizing that chronic cough may signal non-allergic causes that require broader evaluation. 00:00 EKG Surprise 00:13 Echo Turns Serious 00:34 Show Intro 01:17 Mouth Taping Talk 02:30 Breathing And Blood Pressure 03:15 Meet Dana Amore 04:20 Chronic Cough Workup 05:15 Endoscopy Finds LBBB 07:20 Heart Failure Explained 16:09 Treatment And Ejection Fraction 23:52 Asthma Testing Deep Dive 27:23 Wrap Up And Disclaimer