Many people are tormented by a fairly common phenomenon - shortness of breath when walking, the reasons for which at first glance are inexplicable. Sometimes it’s enough just to speed up the step and there is an unpleasant feeling in the chest, it becomes difficult to breathe. Quite often you can hear the opinion that only people aged suffer from a lack of air , but this is not so. Young people are also prone to dyspnea (shortness of breath when walking), the causes of which are different. The phenomenon of lack of air is a symptom of a disease, so it is very important to consult a doctor in a timely manner.
Symptoms
At the initial stage of damage to the cardiovascular and respiratory system, shortness of breath when walking (causes in the elderly and young people can be associated with the presence of organ diseases) occurs with any other physical exertion, for example, walking up stairs. If the disease progresses, dyspnea is noticed even with a slow step or tying shoelaces. The following symptoms are possible:
- chest tightness;
- difficulty breathing in or out;
- suffocation;
- strong compression in the chest;
- lack of oxygen;
- The impossibility of a full exhalation and deep breath.
What shortness of breath indicates when walking
Shortness of breath when walking, the causes of which may be associated with problems of the respiratory and cardiovascular system, manifests itself infrequently or in a chronic form. The most common sign of deviation is a lack of air that occurs suddenly. In addition, the patient may lose his breathing rhythm, whistles and wheezing are heard, the skin turns pale, and the lips acquire a blue tint.
Chronic dyspnea can be determined by respiratory rate. The knocking down of rhythm of exhalations and inspirations indicates the presence of pathology. Severe shortness of breath when walking, the cause of which is a violation of the respiratory system, causes a sharp oxygen deficiency. Along with dyspnea, excessive sweating may appear. Usually this is noticed when the patient goes out in the cold, at night, after eating and during exertion. Most often, shortness of breath appears when walking up the stairs. Causes - lung infection, pneumonia, viral disease. Possible manifestations - severe pain in the chest and loss of consciousness.
Dyspnea may appear even at night when a person is at rest. This is due to insufficiency of the ventricle of the heart (left) or stagnation in the tissues of the heart. In this case, the patient is easier to breathe if he sleeps in a sitting position or on several pillows.
In cold weather, shortness of breath may also occur when walking. The reasons are the presence of deviations in the functioning of the lungs, anemia, insufficient body weight, an allergic reaction to low temperatures. Experts advise in this case to learn to breathe correctly without breathing cold air through the mouth.
Possible causes and types of dyspnea
The most common causes of shortness of breath when walking are as follows:
- Chest deformity.
- Deviations in the nervous system - panic attacks, neurosis, as well as hysteria.
- Inflammatory processes in the bronchi - asthma.
- Reducing the amount of hemoglobin, red blood cells.
- Inflammation of the lung tissue - pneumonia.
- Obesity.
- Disruption of the cardiovascular system.
- Shortness of breath is cardiac, central, pulmonary and hematogenous.
Pulmonary and hematogenous dyspnea
Quite often, expiratory dyspnea is diagnosed when walking. The reasons for the treatment of which takes a long time are pathologies or complex lung diseases. Pulmonary dyspnea is characterized by spasms and swelling, which affects the respiratory process. The expiratory form occurs with bronchial asthma, the patient heard wheezing and wheezing.
In addition, inspiratory dyspnea is common when walking. “Reasons - treatment” are the main two components that only a specialist will help to understand. Therefore, if malfunctions are detected in breathing, even with slight physical activity, difficulties in speaking, you should contact the hospital for help. This shortness of breath occurs due to diseases of the larynx, its edema and tumors.
Hematogenous - most often occurs when toxins penetrate the blood. This shortness of breath is observed in patients with diabetes mellitus. Symptoms - noisy, heavy breathing.
Cardiac and central dyspnea
Cardiac dyspnea is associated with thinning of the vascular walls, stenosis, heart failure. Often, heart disease becomes what causes shortness of breath when walking (severe oxygen starvation). Symptoms of this type of dyspnea are polypnoea, as well as orthopnea. The first is characterized by rapid breathing due to excessive blood flow to the heart or heart failure. The second develops with insufficiency of the left ventricle of the heart. With orthopnea, the patient tends to be in an upright position, since only then does he feel better.
Central shortness of breath when walking fast, the reasons for which are the effect of substances of a neurotropic nature, deviations of the central nervous system, most often manifested by arrhythmia. This type of dyspnea is not a manifestation of any pathology, central dyspnea is a cause in itself.
Diagnosis
Before proceeding with the treatment of shortness of breath, the doctor should determine as accurately as possible the causes of deviations that disrupt the breathing process when walking. Severe shortness of breath can be the result of many dangerous diseases. To identify them, the following methods are used:
- Visual inspection of the patient.
- Tomography or chest x-ray.
- Blood test of the patient.
- Test using a bronchodilator.
- Echocardiography.
- Spirometry.
- Pulse oximetry.
Effective treatment
With shortness of breath, a person experiences an acute shortage of oxygen, the most extreme stage is suffocation. Shortness of breath is divided, as mentioned above, into expiratory (problems with exhalation), inspiratory (difficulty in breathing) and mixed. The latter is accompanied by both a heavy inhalation and an exhalation. Regardless of the species, the deviation should be treated immediately. The most common way to combat the disease is to identify the disease, which provoked difficulties with breathing, and subsequent treatment. If coronary disease or a heart attack is diagnosed, therapy should include only medications. With asthma, inhalers help get rid of the disease.
Together with the main prescribed course of drugs, another way to forget what shortness of breath is when walking can help. Reasons, the treatment of folk remedies which slowly but also effectively, gradually disappear. However, do not forget that alternative therapy should not be separated from the doctor’s prescribed recommendations. An effective way to reduce shortness of breath is oxygen therapy. The bottom line is the use of special oxygen concentrators, which contribute to the constant "production" of oxygen required by the body from the air.
Oxygen therapy
If the patient's dyspnea is associated with lung cancer, bronchitis, or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, treatment should be based on the use of concentrators. In addition, oxygen therapy is used for heart failure. Oxygen therapy is effective even when the drugs cease to have the proper therapeutic effect, and the patient due to severe shortness of breath can not only move normally, but also eat, dress and carry out hygiene procedures. Oxygen therapy helps in the following:
- Extend life in severe pathologies for several years (about 10).
- Reduce heart rate at rest and while moving.
- Cheer up, get rid of insomnia.
- Reduce discomfort with shortness of breath.
Traditional medicine
Undergoing drug therapy and relying on the means tested by people for centuries, you can get rid of the unpleasant sensations that shortness of breath gives when walking. Reasons, treatment with folk remedies of which gives a visible effect, can cease to bother the patient, since complex therapy helps to get rid of not only symptoms, but also “extinguish” the focus of the disease. An effective way to combat shortness of breath from traditional medicine is a decoction of hawthorn flowers. It is required to fill in one spoon of a plant with 250 ml of boiling water. Such a decoction is infused for an hour in a place inaccessible to sunlight. Drink such a medicine several times a day for 1/3 cup.
Oat grains help relieve shortness of breath when walking. Half a glass of cereals is poured with 2 liters of milk. In order for the dish to be fully cooked, it needs to be simmered for about 2 hours in the oven at low temperature. One to two hours before bedtime, consume a portion of porridge (150-200 g). To achieve the desired effect, eating such a porridge takes about 14 days.
Prevention of shortness of breath
Preventive measures for shortness of breath include:
- Regular physical activity and proper nutrition in order to maintain normal weight.
- Training respiratory muscles by swimming, daily walks in the fresh air.
- Complete rejection of tobacco products.
- Respiratory gymnastics, conducted by various methods.
- Avoidance of contact with dust, feathers, animal hair - active allergens that can provoke a bronchial spasm.
- Complete treatment of the underlying disease.
It is important to regularly consult a doctor who can conduct a full examination in order to exclude the progression of chronic diseases and the development of new abnormalities.