The Thrill Is Gone

An 85-year-old white woman with longstanding atrial fibrillation and hypertension presented to our emergency department with a 2-day history of progressive dyspnea. Earlier that week she had been seen by an outpatient provider and was found to be hypotensive. Her home bumetanide was discontinued, and she developed dyspnea that progressed after missing 2 doses. She reported that she was sleeping with more pillows and that she had a limited ability to walk and a new cough. Her recent history was notable for progressive fatigue and dyspnea over the past year. In the past 3 months she had been treated as an outpatient with loop diuretics for presumed congestive heart failure by a cardiologist. Her recent history was also notable for recurrent hematochezia requiring 5 admissions, including an intensive care unit admission for hemorrhagic shock, over the preceding 6 months. An extensive evaluation, including esophagastroduodenoscopy, several colonoscopies, and a small-intestine capsule study were unrevealing; she was noted only to have severe diverticulosis. During this period, her warfarin and, after additional bleeding episodes, her aspirin were stopped in light of her recurrent bleeding. Additional medical history included a diagnosis of cataracts, macular degeneration, and osteoarthritis. Medications included bumetanide 1 mg daily, metoprolol succinate 50 mg daily, omeprazole 40 mg daily, and calcium supplements. She had no known drug allergies.