Is myasthenia gravis life threatening?

Myasthenia gravis is life-threatening, and if the respiratory muscles are involved in the myasthenic crisis, cough, weakness or even dyspnea are required, endotracheal intubation and ventilator-assisted ventilation are required in time, and if not treated in time, it can be life-threatening.

Patients with oropharyngeal weakness or respiratory weakness are most likely to develop a myasthenic crisis, precipitated by respiratory tract infections such as surgery, thymectomy, nervousness, and other systemic disorders, exertion, and mood swings. Occasionally, myocardial involvement can occur, causing sudden death, and about 10% of patients with myasthenia gravis develop a crisis. Therefore, when there is a crisis, it must be dealt with in time, otherwise it will indeed endanger the patient's life.

This is most likely due to abnormal immunity and genetics.

Psychological problems can occur, and even after the patient recovers, the psychological effects will continue to exist, manifested as anxiety, nervousness, irritability, etc., and some patients will experience insomnia, nightmares and other symptoms.

Lung damage is present. Although the disease** has been repaired, the alveoli are damaged and cannot work normally, which may affect the patient's lung function, and symptoms such as dyspnea may occur, which is a manifestation of decreased lung function.

It is accompanied by body aches and fatigue, severe sore throat, and significant cough and sputum production. Subsequently, the fever decreased, but there were still sore throat, cough, runny nose and other manifestations, and finally the physical symptoms were significantly improved.

Body aches, fatigue, sore throat symptoms continue to worsen, then the body temperature begins to drop, most body temperature can return to normal, some elderly people begin to have a runny nose, still cough, sputum and other symptoms, and then all physical symptoms have improved.

Typical symptoms. The main symptoms are as follows:

Ptosis of the upper eyelid: this is caused by paralysis of one or both extraocular muscles, which may be accompanied by strabismus and diplopia at the same time.

Dysphagia and chewing: This is caused by the involvement of the facial and throat muscles, and at the same time, there will be an indifferent expression, a wry smile, continuous chewing weakness, choking on water, and more laborious swallowing of chewed food when eating;

Hoarseness: This is also caused by the involvement of the facial and throat muscles, which can be accompanied by nasal speech, dysphonia, and unclear pronunciation when speaking;

Difficulty raising head: when the sternocleidomastoid muscle and trapezius muscle are involved, it manifests as neck weakness, difficulty in raising the head, weakness in turning the head and shrugging the shoulders;

Weakness of the arms and legs: The muscles of the limbs are affected by proximal weakness, which is manifested as difficulty in raising the arms, combing the hair, and climbing stairs, but the tendon reflexes are usually unaffected and the sensation is normal;

Dyspnea: Respiratory muscle involvement often leads to adverse consequences, and medical attention should be sought as soon as possible if you experience difficulty breathing;

Morning and evening severity: this is a characteristic of the symptoms of the disease, i.e., daily fluctuations, muscle weakness that worsens after exertion in the afternoon or evening and lessens after morning or rest. Myasthenic crisis refers to the dangerous phenomenon that the patient suddenly develops severe dyspnea under the influence of a certain trigger, and the patient is unable to breathe normally.

Once it occurs, patients need to be presented to the emergency department quickly, and myocardial involvement can occasionally occur, which can lead to sudden death. Predisposing factors include respiratory tract infections, surgery (including thymectomy), stress, systemic illness, etc., <>