Breathing Problems

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Summary

When you're short of breath, it's hard or uncomfortable for you to take in the oxygen your body needs. You may feel as if you're not getting enough air. Sometimes you can have mild breathing problems because of a stuffy nose or intense exercise. But shortness of breath can also be a sign of a serious disease.

Many conditions can make you feel short of breath:

Lung conditions such as asthma, emphysema, or pneumonia
Problems with your trachea or bronchi, which are part of your airway system
Heart disease can make you feel breathless if your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply oxygen to your body
Anxiety and panic attacks
Allergies

If you often have trouble breathing, it is important to find out the cause.

Start Here

Breathlessness (American Thoracic Society) - PDF
How Your Body Controls Breathing (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
Shortness of Breath (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Shortness of Breath (American Heart Association)
Shortness of Breath (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Bronchoscopy and Bronchoalveolar Lavage (BAL) (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Lung Function Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Respiratory Pathogens Panel (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Shortness of Breath (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Spirometry (American Lung Association)
Spirometry (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Sputum Culture (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Tests for Lung Disease (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
V/Q Scan (National Library of Medicine)
Wheezing (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Living With

Minimizing Shortness of Breath (National Jewish Health)
Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Shortness of Breath and Eating (National Jewish Health)

Related Issues

Dyspnea during Advanced Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
How to Properly Put On and Take Off a Disposable Respirator (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome (Scoliosis Research Society)

Specifics

Hypoxemia (Low Blood Oxygen) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Videos and Tutorials

Breathing (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Gas exchange (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Dyspnea (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Find an Expert

Children

Breath-Holding Spells (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Older Adults

Eldercare at Home: Breathing Problems (AGS Health in Aging Foundation)

Patient Handouts

Blood gases (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Breath sounds (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Breathing difficulty (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Breathing difficulty - lying down (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
How to breathe when you are short of breath (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
How to Properly Put On and Take Off a Disposable Respirator (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
Pulmonary function tests (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Rapid shallow breathing (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Wheezing (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish