asthma vs wheeze

asthma

noun
  • A long-term respiratory condition, in which the airways may unexpectedly and suddenly narrow, often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. 

wheeze

noun
  • A piping or whistling sound caused by difficult respiration. 

  • An ordinary whisper exaggerated so as to produce the hoarse sound known as the "stage whisper"; a forcible whisper with some admixture of tone. 

  • Something very humorous or laughable. 

  • An ulterior scheme or plan. 

  • A sound that resembles a human wheezing. 

verb
  • To breathe hard, and with an audible piping or whistling sound, as persons affected with asthma. 

  • To convulse with laughter; to become breathless due to intense laughing. 

  • To make a sound that resembles the sound of human wheezing. 

How often have the words asthma and wheeze occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )