It's possible to have a "silent" heart attack without experiencing all the obvious symptoms, such as chest pain and overwhelming anxiety. In this case, shortness of breath may be the only warning sign you're having a heart attack. If you or your GP think this is the case, they'll give you aspirin and admit you to hospital straight away. Heart failure can also cause breathing difficulties. This life-threatening condition means your heart is having trouble pumping enough blood around your body, usually because the heart muscle has become too weak or stiff to work properly.
It leads to a build-up of fluid inside the lungs, which makes breathing more difficult. A combination of lifestyle changes and medicines or surgery will help the heart pump better and relieve your breathlessness. Breathlessness could also relate to a problem with your heart rate or rhythm, such as atrial fibrillation an irregular and fast heart rate or supraventricular tachycardia regular and fast heart rate.
A panic attack or anxiety can cause you to take rapid or deep breaths, known as hyperventilating. Concentrating on slow breathing or breathing through a paper bag can bring your breathing back to normal but should only be done when you are certain anxiety is the cause of your breathlessness. Home Illnesses and conditions Lungs and airways Shortness of breath. Shortness of breath. About shortness of breath Sudden shortness of breath, or breathing difficulty dyspnoea , is the most common reason for visiting a hospital accident and emergency department.
It's also one of the most common reasons people phone for an ambulance. Being overweight can contribute to a sense of difficult breathing, as can certain neuromuscular conditions or having a low blood count anemia. It commonly exists in conjunction with diabetes, high blood pressure, or atrial fibrillation.
Leaky or stenotic too narrow heart valves can similarly cause shortness of breath. It is also possible that someone could have more than one diagnosis accounting for breathing trouble. In the elderly population, a form of heart failure called diastolic dysfunction a problem with relaxation of the heart muscle is an increasingly recognized cause of shortness of breath.
Fritz: Again, it comes back to the underlying cause. When it comes to shortness of breath, we really need to figure out what condition is causing it. The worst-case scenario would be not finding the cause and missing the opportunity to intervene on a treatable condition. In severe cases, not treating the underlying cause can be fatal. Still, even if you think your symptoms are due to a panic attack, it's important to go to the ER to get checked out and confirm you're not in immediate danger.
Then there's the milder shortness of breath experienced on occasion with physical activity. While this isn't a medical emergency, it's not something to ignore either. And, if you feel like you're not getting enough oxygen, your organs aren't either — which can have serious short-term and long-term consequences to your health.
Your doctor can run the tests needed to help make a diagnosis, as well as offer lifestyle recommendations or prescribe medications that can help treat the underlying cause of your shortness of breath," explains Dr. Resources Find an Expert. Many conditions can make you feel short of breath: Lung conditions such as asthma , emphysema , or pneumonia Problems with your trachea or bronchi , which are part of your airway system Heart disease can make you feel breathless if your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply oxygen to your body Anxiety and panic attacks Allergies If you often have trouble breathing, it is important to find out the cause.
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