Diagnostic ConsiderationsStatus asthmaticus can be misdiagnosed when wheezing occurs from an acute cause other than asthma. Some of these alternative causes of wheezing are discussed below.Extrinsic compressionAirways can be compressed from vascular structures, such as vascular rings, lymphadenopathy, or tumors.Congestive heart failureAirway edema may cause wheezing in CHF. In addition, vascular compression may compress the airways during systole with cardiac ejection, resulting in a pulsatile wheeze that corresponds to the heart rate. This is sometimes erroneously referred to as cardiac asthma.Differential Diagnoses Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis Aspiration Syndromes Bronchiectasis Bronchiolitis Bronchiolitis obliterans Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Chronic bronchitis Churg-Strauss Syndrome Croup Cystic Fibrosis Emphysema Foreign Bodies of the Airway Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Heart Failure Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension Inhalation Injury Pulmonary Artery Sling