Dyspnea is a medical term for shortness of breath. Shortness of breath is often explained as feeling of inadequate or not enough breathing of air (air hunger), gasping for air, chest tightness, feeling of suffocation and working hard (struggling) to breath.
Dyspnea is a very uncomfortable feeling, causing distress and affecting quality of life.
Dyspnea can be acute occurring over hours and days, acute on chronic, or chronic (gradually) occurring over 4-8 weeks.
CAUSES
Dyspnea occurs due to problems related to the lungs or heart. The duration of dyspnea may vary depending on the cause.
- Heart: Pulmonary edema (accumulation of water in the lungs) due to heart failure or leakage of the valves of the heart, cardiomyopathy (abnormal increase in the size of the heart), pulmonary hypertension, and other related disorders.
- Lungs: Acute exacerbation of asthma or COPD, interstitial lungs disease, fibrosis, pneumonias, pleural effusion, pneumothorax (air around the lungs), lung cancer and other related illness effecting the lungs.
- Other causes are severe allergic reaction, anxiety, anemia, certain muscular disorders (leading to weakness of muscles involved in breathing), kidney or liver disorder, obesity and vocal cord disorders.
DIAGNOSIS & MANAGEMENT
As dyspnea represents the presence of an underlying illness, it is managed by treating the condition. It can be associated with or without low oxygen level.
If you face any of the above mention symptoms, visit your physician for further evaluation. With a detail history, physical examination, laboratory and radiological investigation, your doctor will be able to determine the cause. In situations like asthma and COPD, spirometry or pulmonary function test is done to determine the severity of the condition.
Laboratory tests include, complete blood counts, checking creatinine and electrolytes, liver function tests, cardiac enzymes ( troponin and CPK) , Pro-BNP, serum IgE levels, and certain other tests depending on the initial assessment.
Radiological investigation that are used for diagnosis are X-rays, CT scans with or without contrast, echocardiogram and some other tests.
Once the cause is identified, targeted treatment will be started.