We all at least occasionally, but met with a feeling of acute shortage of air, when it seems that the chest was squeezed, and there is no way to take a deep breath. This condition is defined as shortness of breath.
But it’s one thing if this happens after heavy physical exertion: running,
dance marathon or drag and drop, and quite another - if you have shortness of breath when walking, from the heat or without any apparent reason.
What provokes shortness of breath in normal health
Shortness of breath appears during running or other physical exertion, when the body, trying to maintain a balance of oxygen in the blood, enhances respiratory contractions. The brain gives a signal to this, and immediately we have an urgent need to accelerate the pace of inspiration and exhalation.
Sometimes shortness of breath provokes an emotional burden: excitement, anger, anxiety. All this stimulates the production of adrenaline, and it, getting into the bloodstream, makes our body drive more and more air through the lungs. Therefore, the stronger the emotional surge, the stronger the lack of air.
Dyspnea with heart disease
Often, shortness of breath when walking is one of the signs of coronary heart disease. To this, as a rule, pain in the left side of the chest is also added. With heart failure, especially in a stagnant form of the disease, breathing difficulties become a constant phenomenon. It is difficult for such patients to lie on their backs due to a lack of air. This phenomenon requires serious comprehensive treatment.
A particularly complex manifestation of problems in the cardiovascular system is cardiac asthma. These are asthma attacks, which develop due to acute stagnation formed in the pulmonary circulation. They begin with a dry cough, breathing is accompanied by a moan and is very difficult, a heavy sweat covers the face, the patient takes a forced position. Such attacks last from a few minutes to several hours and require medical attention.
With cardiac dyspnea, cyanosis usually appears, hands and feet become cold, and during physical exertion, breathing difficulties increase.
Shortness of breath while walking speaks about respiratory diseases
The causes of shortness of breath can also be problems with the respiratory system. So, with edema of the respiratory tract, a large amount of sputum in the bronchi, tumors in the lungs, difficulty breathing is observed.
During bronchitis, shortness of breath while walking may appear regardless of severity
course of the disease. Her treatment is carried out necessarily under the supervision of a doctor.
And with pneumonia, this symptom appears more often than with bronchitis, because this disease is accompanied by inflammation of the alveoli, which helps the blood to be saturated with oxygen.
Separately, bronchial asthma should be indicated, which is based on inflammation of the bronchial mucosa, which is allergic in nature and causes a narrowing of their lumen. The appearance of this disease is accompanied by constant shortness of breath, which occurs not only when walking, but also for no reason. Bronchial asthma is characterized by difficulty exhaling, loud wheezing, swelling of the veins in the neck and swelling of the face. Attacks of suffocation with it can last the same as with cardiac asthma, up to several hours.
From the foregoing, it is clear that shortness of breath appearing in unclear circumstances requires mandatory treatment by specialists, because it can be a sign of serious illness.