Breathlessness: Top 5 Common Causes

It’s normal to get out of breath when you exercise or exert yourself. But a sudden shortness of breath (dyspnea or acute breathlessness) or a feeling of breathlessness that develops gradually and doesn’t go away (chronic dyspnea) is normally the sign of an underlying medical condition.

In some cases, breathlessness is a medical emergency. Dial 999 or go straight to A&E if you are, or someone else is:

• choking, gasping or have severe problems breathing
• have a severe chest pain
• have a pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw
• are very pale or your skin has a bluish or grey colour
• are drowsy or finding it difficult to stay awake.

Common causes of breathlessness

There are many different reasons why you might be short of breath and your doctor or a respiratory consultant will need to ask questions and examine you to determine the cause. In some cases, you will require urgent treatment.

1. A problem with your lungs or airways. This might be a sudden and acute, such as an asthma attack, which happens when the muscles around your airway tighten up and the airway becomes swollen and the lining fills with mucus. Or, you may have a chronic condition like COPD which refers to a range of diseases that affect the lung, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive airways disease. A disease such as pneumonia, often the result of an infection, can also produce acute breathlessness.
2. Heart problems. If you have a heart attack, you may become short of breath. We normally expect a heart attack to result in symptoms such as chest pain and/or pain the travels down the left arm or both arms and extends to the back, neck and jaw. In some cases, however, breathlessness is the only symptom. Breathing difficulties can also be caused by heart failure, which is when your heart cannot pump enough blood around your body leading to a build-up of fluid inside the lungs. Other common causes of breathlessness related to the heart include an irregular and fast heart rate (atrial fibrillation) and a regular and fast heart rate (supraventricular tachycardia).
3. Mental health problems. If you have severe anxiety or are suffering from intense stress or are experiencing panic attacks, you can hyperventilate, which means you take very rapid or deep breaths. A doctor or respiratory consultant can show you how to slow your breathing or breathe into a paper bag to help your breathing return to normal. It is important to seek medical advice, however, to ensure that anxiety or stress is the primary cause of your breathlessness and it is not the result of some kind of underlying medical condition.
4. Smoking. Smoking affects your lung function and can cause chronic breathlessness which may impact your quality of life. It can increase your risk of developing COPD because smoking damages the air sacs, airways and lining of your lungs. Getting help to quit can improve your lung function and reduce the risk of developing long-term illness.
5. Being unfit. Like any muscle, your lungs need a regular work-out to stay healthy and strong. If you are unfit, the muscles in your lungs become weak. However, by increasing your physical activity, you can improve the condition of your lung and build muscle strength. Stronger muscles need less oxygen to work which means you will be able to breathe more easily when you are exercising.

Alongside common causes of breathlessness, there are many other less common reasons why you might become breathless. These include acute conditions such as a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), excess fluid next to the lung (pleural effusion) or a blockage in one of the blood vessels in the lung (pulmonary embolism). There are also chronic conditions that can cause breathlessness, such as a narrowing of the main heart valve which can restrict blood flow to the rest of the body.

If you are experiencing ongoing shortness of breath without an obvious cause, or if you experience a sudden and acute episode of breathlessness, it is important to seek medical advice. Your doctor or respiratory consultant may send you for diagnostic testing, including pulmonary function tests, blood tests, chest X-rays, CT scans, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram or an exercise stress test to determine the cause.

Depending what is causing your condition, you may be offered a range of possible treatments which might include lifestyle changes such as giving up smoking or stress reduction.

With so many different possible causes, specialist diagnosis is essential. We can provide in-depth information tailored to your specific symptoms about diagnosis treatment or preventing breathlessness. Contact us today for a consultation.