“How do you get rid of shortness of breath?”
I am a 28 year old male and I have shortness of breath. How do you get rid of shortness of breath?
1 Answer
Though there are many causes of the sensation of being "short of breath"(SOB), the TWO main categories of causes are CARDIAC(where the heart has some abnormality in pumping blood--like coronary disease, valvular defect, or disease of the heart muscle itself) and PULMONARY(where there may be abnormalities of the bronchial tubes, like asthma and bronchitis, or diseases of the lung tissue, like pheumonia and pulmonary fibrosis.
Rarer causes include blood clots in the lung, anemia, anxiety attacks, or chest wall defects.
There are simple things your doctor can do during a physical examination--like take your blood pressure, pulse and respitatory rate, and listen to your heart and lungs tests--which may provide clues to the underlying cause.
He/she may then order an EKG and/or ECHOCARDIOGRAM to assess the heart, and/or a CXR and PFT'S(pulmonary function tests) to evaluate the lungs.
Generally a competent MD(internal medicine specialist or family physician) will be able to be quickly determine the cause of SOB and be able to recommend proper treatment.
Rarer causes include blood clots in the lung, anemia, anxiety attacks, or chest wall defects.
There are simple things your doctor can do during a physical examination--like take your blood pressure, pulse and respitatory rate, and listen to your heart and lungs tests--which may provide clues to the underlying cause.
He/she may then order an EKG and/or ECHOCARDIOGRAM to assess the heart, and/or a CXR and PFT'S(pulmonary function tests) to evaluate the lungs.
Generally a competent MD(internal medicine specialist or family physician) will be able to be quickly determine the cause of SOB and be able to recommend proper treatment.
