Do you feel breathless while climbing stairs? While it is a normal reflex response to an activity to a certain degree (when you are physically active, your body makes your heart, and lungs put more effort in the supply of oxygen to your muscles), you must be alarmed if this breathlessness becomes common, frequent, or is associated with other signs.
Because it could also mean that your lungs (or your heart) are trying to say something, warns Dr Mahavir Modi, Consultant Pulmonologist, Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune.
When should breathlessness be a concern?
Also read | Struggling to breathe? 8 medical reasons you should know
Dr Modi suggests one should take immediate medical advice if you have:
- New or increased breathlessness: In case you are having difficulty with activity that you found easy before.
- A feeling of breathlessness at rest or during slight activity: This is cause of concern and should be seen instantly.
- Chronic cough: Persistent cough, regardless of whether it is dry or productive, most likely needs attention particularly when it persists beyond a short period of time especially when it lasts beyond few weeks.
- Wheezing or whistling: A squeaky sound when the person is breathing, especially when they are breathing out.
- Tightness in the chest: Pain when breathing in deeply or coughing.
- Repeat respiratory infections: In case you have noticed yourself frequently contracting bronchitis or pneumonia.
- Severe fatigue: Chronic fatigue, even when you have rested adequately, might show a lack of oxygen.
Causes of breathlessness
There could be many causes of breathlessness. While some of these are short-dated and harmless, the others are more severe:
Lung-Related Conditions:
- Asthma: A long term inflammation of the airways that may lead to the narrowing and trouble in breathing.
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): It is a combination of chronic bronchitis and emphysema which is commonly associated with smoking, and this causes obstruction of airflow.
- Pulmonary Fibrosis: This is scarring of the tissue-lungs/enabling them to become stiff and hard to inflate.
- Lung Infections: Examples include pneumonia or bronchitis which causes irritation of airways and lung tissue.
- Pulmonary Embolism: A life threatening clot in the lungs arteries.
- Pulmonary Hypertension: Increase in the pressure of blood flow in the arteries that deliver blood to the lungs.
- Heart Disease: It might not be in a position to pump enough oxygenated blood to the body and the effect is breathlessness. This may include coronary artery disease or heart failure.
- Being out of shape (deconditioning): The source of frequent breathlessness on exertion. This can be considerably enhanced by regular exercises.
- Anemia: The reduced concentration of red blood cells entails ferrying of reduced oxygen quantities in the blood.
- Obesity: Being overweight causes the heart and lungs to have more strain.
- Anxiety or Panic Attacks: May cause shortness of breath, in most cases accompanied by other bodily manifestations.
- Allergies: It may inflame the airway and make it hard to breathe.
- Altitudes: When the air is at high altitudes, there will be less amount of oxygen and this may cause one to be breathless.
- Some Medications: Shortness of breath is a side effect of certain drugs.
Breathlessness after exertion is not uncommon but underlying illness may get progressively worse and therefore should never be overlooked.
What to Do:
- Talk to your doctor: Whether you have been diagnosed with a breathing condition, or have worrying shortness of breath that is either new, disproportionately severe, or is accompanied by other symptoms, you must immediately consult your doctor.
- Tell the truth about your symptoms: Give a specific history of how frequently the breathlessness happens, what improves it or makes it worse and any additional symptoms.
- Undergo required tests: Your physician might advise you to perform tests such as lung function tests, chest X-rays, ECGs or blood-tests in order to uncover the cause.
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