Contents
Complaints of shortness of breath are very common. Sometimes a person tries to cope with it on his own, and sometimes he is forced to call an ambulance. In some cases, emergency hospitalization of the patient in the intensive care unit is required.
Shortness of breath – what is it?
Dyspnea is a feeling of lack of air, accompanied by pressure in the chest and rapid breathing. A person with shortness of breath tries to take a deep breath. Shortness of breath can be acute and chronic. This condition is also called dyspnea.
Normally, when a person is resting, he does not pay attention to his breathing. As physical activity increases, he begins to breathe faster and deeper, which becomes noticeable to him. However, if a person is healthy, then shortness of breath on the background of physical activity is a normal phenomenon that does not cause discomfort. A few minutes after the cessation of active physical activity, breathing rates will return to normal.
Pathological shortness of breath occurs when breathing quickens during normal walking, when performing elementary actions, or at rest. Such shortness of breath indicates the development of a disease.
Types of shortness of breath
When shortness of breath occurs on inspiration, it is called inspiratory. The reason for its development is the narrowing of the lumen of the trachea and bronchi. Inspiratory dyspnea accompanies bronchial asthma, pneumothorax, pleurisy, etc.
If shortness of breath occurs during exhalation, then it is called expiratory. Such shortness of breath develops due to narrowing of the small bronchi. It accompanies emphysema, COPD.
Sometimes shortness of breath can be mixed, when a person experiences discomfort during both inhalation and exhalation. Such a violation of breathing accompanies severe pulmonary pathologies, heart failure in a neglected form.
Depending on the patient’s condition, there are 5 degrees of severity of shortness of breath. The assessment is based on the person’s complaints, based on the MRC scale.
Severity | Patient complaints |
0 – no | Shortness of breath occurs only after severe physical exertion. |
1 – light | Shortness of breath manifests after climbing up the stairs, or while walking fast. |
2 – medium | Shortness of breath causes a person to reduce the speed of movement, although healthy people of the same age can continue to walk at the same pace. The patient needs to stop to continue moving. |
3 – heavy | A person is forced to make a stop every few minutes. He can walk about 100 m, after which he will need to catch his breath. |
4 – very hard | Shortness of breath occurs both at rest and during minor physical exertion. A person has to limit himself as much as possible in movement. |
Shortness of breath
There are several reasons that can lead to shortness of breath. They, in turn, also combine various pathologies and diseases:
Respiratory failure.
Shortness of breath will develop in the following cases:
Violation of the patency of the bronchi.
Diseases of the lung parenchyma.
Damage to the vessels of the lungs.
Pathology of the muscles responsible for the movement of the chest and respiratory organs.
Heart failure.
hyperventilation syndrome. It develops with neuroses, as well as against the background of neurocirculatory dystonia.
Metabolic disorders.
Shortness of breath and lung disease
Shortness of breath always accompanies diseases of the bronchi and lungs. It can be acute, for example, with pleurisy or pneumothorax, or chronic. In the latter case, shortness of breath will bother for many weeks or even years. Chronic shortness of breath is characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In chronic pathologies of the lungs, the lumen of the respiratory tract becomes narrower, clogged with thick sputum. Shortness of breath worries a person all the time, if it is not treated, then it gradually progresses. It belongs to the expiratory type. In parallel, a person develops a cough, which is accompanied by the separation of a thick secret.
If the patient suffers from bronchial asthma, then shortness of breath occurs unexpectedly. In this case, it will be expiratory. A person takes a small shallow breath, after which he has a noisy exhalation. To stop an asthma attack, the patient needs to take drugs aimed at expanding the bronchi. This allows you to quickly bring breathing back to normal. To provoke another attack of shortness of breath can hit the surface of the bronchi of allergens during breathing. Sometimes shortness of breath develops after eating foods that are potential allergens. If bronchomimetics do not enter the body in time, then the person will become worse, he may faint. A patient with an attack of bronchial asthma requires medical assistance, otherwise he may even die.
Shortness of breath will develop when the organs of the respiratory system have been affected by infectious agents. Therefore, this symptom is always accompanied by bronchitis and pneumonia. The more severe the course of the underlying disease, the stronger the shortness of breath.
In addition to it, the patient will experience the following symptoms:
High body temperature, or subfebrile body temperature.
Increased weakness, increased fatigue, symptoms of intoxication of the body.
Increased sweating.
Pain in the chest area.
Cough: either loose or no expectoration.
If the treatment is started on time, then it will be possible to get rid of inflammation of the bronchi and pneumonia in a few days. When the infection has a severe course, or treatment is delayed, the person’s condition deteriorates sharply. Even death is possible.
Shortness of breath can be a symptom of a lung tumor. In the initial stages of development, the disease is asymptomatic. However, as the pathology progresses, the neoplasm begins to compress the lung tissue, which leads to the development of shortness of breath.
The following symptoms will indicate cancerous tumors of the respiratory system:
Shortness of breath, which at first will be barely noticeable, but as the disease progresses, it will increase.
Coughing fits that are not accompanied by mucus. Sputum may appear, but there will be very little of it.
Pain in the chest area.
Weight loss.
Paleness of the skin and increased weakness.
Treatment involves performing surgery to remove the cancer. In addition, the patient is prescribed chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Extremely life-threatening diseases such as: pulmonary embolism, toxic pulmonary edema and local airway obstruction.
Pulmonary embolism is caused by blockage of the branches that branch off from the main blood vessel that supplies the respiratory system. As a result, a certain part of the lung ceases to perform its function normally. The larger the lungs are affected, the stronger the symptoms of thromboembolism will be. Shortness of breath occurs suddenly for a person, can develop not only during physical activity, but also at rest. The person begins to suffer from suffocation, from pain in the chest. During a coughing fit, blood may come out. To make a correct diagnosis, you will need to do an x-ray of the lungs, an ECG and an angiopulmonography.
If the patient has airway obstruction, then the person will also suffer from suffocation. Shortness of breath inspiratory, breathing is noisy, often accompanied by a cough, which is difficult to get rid of. When you try to change the position of the body, the cough intensifies. To identify the disease, you will need to perform spirometry, bronchoscopy, X-ray or MRI of the lungs.
Respiratory obstruction can be triggered by the following reasons:
Obstruction of the trachea or bronchi due to pressure on them by goiter, or with aortic aneurysm.
A tumor growing inside the respiratory organs, for example, a papilloma or a cancerous neoplasm.
Suffocation, against the background of a foreign object entering the respiratory tract.
Developing cicatricial stenosis.
Inflammatory process, accompanied by destructive changes in the tissues of the trachea. Such a violation develops against the background of systemic diseases, for example, with rheumatoid arthritis, with systemic lupus erythematosus, with Wegener’s granulomatosis.
Taking drugs that expand the lumen of the bronchi will not help to cope with the disease. It is important to eliminate the cause that provoked the obstruction of the airway lumen, or remove the mechanical obstacle that interferes with normal breathing.
Toxic pulmonary edema is another pathology that will be accompanied by shortness of breath. The cause of this condition is the poisoning of the body with the ingress of poisons or other toxic substances into the respiratory tract. In addition, toxic pulmonary edema develops against the background of infectious diseases that have a severe course.
At first, a person has only shortness of breath, and the respiratory rate also increases. Then signs of suffocation develop. Breath becomes wheezing. To cope with the problem, it is necessary to remove the signs of intoxication from the body.
Other respiratory diseases that may be accompanied by shortness of breath include:
Pneumothorax. With this pathology, air enters the pleural part of the lungs. It accumulates there, presses on the tissues of the respiratory system. Pneumothorax develops against the background of an injury, or against the background of an infection. A person with this diagnosis requires emergency surgery.
Pulmonary tuberculosis is accompanied by damage to the lung tissue by bacteria, which may be accompanied by shortness of breath. Treatment should be aimed at destroying the pathogenic flora in the body.
Lung actinoma. This disease develops against the background of damage to the respiratory organs by fungal flora.
Emphysema of the lungs. With this pathology, the alveoli are stretched, normal gas exchange in them is impossible. Emphysema can develop as an independent pathology, or as a symptom of other diseases.
Silicosis. This is a whole group of diseases, which is characterized by the deposition of light dust particles in the tissues. It is impossible to get rid of them. The disease develops due to work in hazardous industries. To alleviate the condition of a person, he is prescribed symptomatic treatment.
Scoliosis, Bechterew’s disease and malformations in the development of the thoracic vertebrae. All these diseases can be accompanied by shortness of breath, as they lead to a violation of the shape of the chest.