What makes shortness of breath

Sometimes, shortness of breath hits suddenly, and maybe even severely. Importantly, if shortness of breath is moderate to severe and occurs suddenly — and especially if it's accompanied by chest pain, lightheadedness and changes to the color of your skin — it's become a medical emergency that warrants a call to 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.

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. However, with our current diagnostic tools, we have a very reasonable chance of diagnosing and treating the problem.

Q: If people are experiencing shortness of breath, when should they see a physician? Dyspnea pediatric. Mahler DA, et al. Recent advances in dyspnea. Walls RM, et al. Philadelphia, Pa. Accessed March 15, Merck Manual Professional Version. Shortness of breath. American Cancer Society. Mahler DA. Evaluation of dyspnea in the elderly. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine.

Davis C, et al. Advances in the prevention and treatment of high altitude illness. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. Warning signs of heart failure. American Heart Association. Accessed March 18, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Warning signs of a heart attack. Venous thromboembolism. Cardiac sarcoidosis.

If your shortness of breath symptoms last for four weeks or longer they may be considered chronic. Many conditions can cause chronic breathlessness including:. This November your donation goes even further to improve lung health and defeat lung cancer.

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