On average, a healthy person takes 14-18 breaths per minute. When you take more than 18–20 breaths per minute, this is a state of dyspnea. This is quite natural during a workout, but If you just bent down to tie your laces and can't catch your breath, then it's time to check your health.
What is shortness of breath?
Dyspnea itself is not a disease, but one of the adaptive functions in the body. This state is not healthy and is a sign of different diseases. Shortness of breath appears as difficult or rapid breathing. A person does so because he feels a lack of air. The depth, rhythm and frequency of your breathing change.
Dyspnea is a reason for a medical examination since the body does not receive enough oxygen. The most dangerous manifestations of dyspnea are sudden and nocturnal, especially when your wake up to breathe.
Dyspnea can be inspiratory and expiratory: in the first case, it is difficult to inhale air, and in the second, it is difficult to exhale it. If shortness of breath appears, you need to look for its cause, because this is how the body signals a health problem.
What can cause dyspnea?
Some of the reasons for dyspnea are connected with your lifestyle and are easy to resolve. But it’s better to check your health with a cardiologist, because hidden diseases may be fatal.
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Heart failure. It causes stagnation of blood in the lungs. The lungs become heavier and cannot provide normal blood oxygenation. Cardiac dyspnea can be associated with angina pectoris and a future heart attack, so be sure to check with a cardiologist. Examination and treatment are required, otherwise a state of dyspnea at night may occur and you will need emergency help, as you can suffocate.
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Lung diseases. If dyspnea is accompanied by high temperature, it may indicate bronchitis and pneumonia. Fluid in the lungs interferes with proper breathing and oxygenation of the body. Suddenly feeling a lack of air may be a symptom of pulmonary embolism. That is a blockage of the pulmonary artery with a blood clot. This condition is an emergency, as it can lead to death.
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Kidney failure. Disruption of kidney function can lead to anemia and metabolic disturbances, which will impair respiratory function.
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Obesity. Excess weight puts stress on the cardiovascular and respiratory system. Fat literally props up the lungs and doesn’t let them expand normally. Losing weight solves this problem.
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Anemia. This is a rather obscure reason that not all doctors can recognize. You may look healthy, but the level of hemoglobin drops and provokes dyspnea. Beans, apples, nuts, red meat, buckwheat and other foods rich in iron will help raise hemoglobin.
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Anxiety and panic attacks. Unlike cardiac or pulmonary dyspnea, neurotic dyspnea can be treated with sedatives, yoga, or walking in the fresh air. Learning to relieve stress should relieve your breathing
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Sedentary lifestyle. Shortness of breath can occur from lack of movement. If the body is not used to running, and you jumped out of the office chair to catch the bus, then dyspnea is guaranteed. Treatment is simple: get regular physical activity back into your life.
Shortness of breath is a pathology if it occurs in normal situations, with a habitual load. In this case, you should consult a doctor to find out the diagnosis and get the proper treatment. Do not get used to living with dyspnea – you can get help!
