“Can anesthesia cause breathlessness?”
I recently underwent a c-section. As soon as I was administered anesthesia I felt extremely breathless and I was given oxygen support during my delivery. It has now been 40 days and I am still feeling strange. Could it be a side effect or should I go for a cardiac evaluation?
5 Answers
Mark Rasak
Cardiologist
The anesthesia has long since left your system. Go for a cardiac evaluation. Make sure you don't have postpartum cardiomyopathy or in CHF. CXR and other testing including lab work would be indicated.
Yes, please go through a cardiac evaluation to play safe. That would include seeing a cardiologist, ECG, blood work and echocardiogram. Before that make sure you are not anemic.
It would be most reasonable to get an appropriate evaluation. Some anesthetics wear off slower, but the breathlessness that is attributable to anesthesia would be within the first few hours following your surgery; persistent breathlessness this far from your surgical date merits a consultation.
I assume your cardiac status was ok when you had the section. Presumably you have a doctor who follows you for general medical issues. First you should see the surgeon who did the section. If the surgeon feels that this is something more than the after-effects of the section and having a new baby, etc. then he/she should refer you to the appropriate specialist. This might be a pulmonary specialist, a general internist, or a cardiologist.
Julia G. Ansari
Cardiologist
It is unlikely for anesthesia to last that long, so I would say you probably need to see your primary care doctor and let them do further work up, such as blood work to look for heart failure and an ultrasound of the heart and whatever else they think you may need.
