Symptoms of difficulty breathing. Shortness of breath in heart failure. Diagnosis of pulmonary dyspnea

Very often, in certain situations, a person may experience difficulty breathing. Sometimes it is caused by heavy physical exertion or lack of air, which in both cases negatively affects the state of health. But more often this condition is caused by incipient or progressive diseases. Therefore, if you experience difficulty breathing, you should immediately seek medical help.

Major Causes of Difficulty Breathing

• Any obstruction that prevents the passage of air through the throat, nose, or mouth can cause difficulty breathing.
• Aggression or anger can cause breathing difficulties.

• Hypodynamia and the resulting obesity, unsatisfactory physical state, fullness are provoking factors for the appearance of such a painful phenomenon.
• Changes in habitual conditions and the slow adaptation of the body to them cause shortness of breath, as well as smoking, chronic phobias and fears, and panic attacks.
• Difficulty breathing can occur when climbing great heights where is rarefied air

Serious causes of difficulty breathing

• If the above causes are easy enough to eliminate by calming down or removing the obstruction that interferes with breathing, then bronchitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, lung obstruction, increased arterial pressure, bronchial asthma — reasons requiring medical attention.
• The causes of difficulty breathing can be diseases of the heart and blood vessels, malfunctions of the heart muscle, heart disease, complications after a sore throat.
• Difficulty breathing is often the result of impaired functioning of the heart vascular system. In this case, the heart cannot provide oxygen. internal organs, which can lead to irreversible consequences.

• Allergies, blood infections, diabetes are often the cause of this condition.
• Hernias, compression of the walls of the sternum, strangulation, croup, epiglottis, pulmonary hypertension, embolism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, angina pectoris or arrhythmia - all this also leads to difficulty breathing.

How to identify shortness of breath?

To understand that the rhythm of breathing is disturbed, listen to how the person breathes. The norm is 17-20 breaths per minute for an adult and 31-35 for children. The rhythm of breathing is calculated by movement chest: raise and lower. If a person has asthma or chronic chest problems, the breathing rate is slightly lower. Changes in the nature of breathing can be caused by a deterioration in the patient's condition or the development of infections.

You can understand that a person is suffering from shortness of breath if you carefully observe him. The main manifestation of shortness of breath is inhibited communication. It becomes difficult for a person to concentrate and understand what is being said to him. The development of difficulty breathing is accompanied by a lowering of the head, a lack of oxygen affects the condition muscle tissue. A person cannot concentrate, lack of oxygen affects the functioning of the brain. People suffering from shortness of breath always try to breathe deeply, thereby trying to compensate for its lack.

Causes of difficulty breathing that require medical attention

• The appearance of a feeling of compression of the chest and pain.
• Even at rest, persistent labored breathing.
• Difficulty sleeping while lying down.
• When a person sleeps, wheezing and whistling sounds are heard.

• It is difficult to swallow, a foreign body is felt in the throat.
• Lasts for several days heat.
• Difficulty breathing appears, as with allergies.
• Such breathing appears abruptly.
• During rest, shortness of breath occurs.

According to the American Institute of Health report, an allergic reaction is considered the main cause of difficulty breathing. Allergies can occur due to plants, household dust, food products. Also, the occurrence of allergies can be caused by animals, drugs or insects.

Causes of difficulty breathing: diseases

Breathing difficulties can also be caused by various diseases associated with the respiratory system or cardiovascular system. This is asthma, and lung or bronchial cancer, congenital disease hearts, ischemic disease, endocarditis, emphysema, pleurisy, left ventricular failure, pneumonia, rheumatic heart disease, pulmonary edema, sedentary image life after serious injury. In this case, the lungs cannot perform their functions to the full, expanding as expected. Even the same position for a long time can cause difficulty breathing. Each of these reasons requires the intervention of a doctor.

To make it easier to breathe, you need to give the correct position to the body. The spine needs to be supported, and the body needs to be in a position where the shoulders are pulled back. Even when lying on your side in this position, the lungs will be able to expand completely. Pillows of different hardness will help to arrange a sick person in correct posture and provide him with the necessary amount of oxygen. The main thing is to put them behind your back so that your shoulders are straightened and laid back.

If you have difficulty breathing, you should immediately consult a doctor. Only qualified help a specialist can help you establish exact reason given state. In no case do not self-medicate, even if the difficulty in breathing is caused by anger or fear, you need to make sure that they caused such a painful process. Breathing is an important component not only for a person's health, but also for his survival, so you should not put off a visit to the doctor if you are suffering from difficulty breathing. Timely appeal seeking medical help will help maintain health and life. Take care of yourself!

Very often, some people have difficulty breathing. Signs of such breathing can be excessive physical exertion on the body or lack of oxygen, which in both cases can greatly affect human health. But, often these symptoms can only be on initial stage. No need to wait for deterioration, but it is better to immediately contact your local doctor.
The main signs of difficulty breathing can be:
- any obstacle that makes it difficult for air to pass through the nasopharynx or oral cavity;
- aggression or anger can also affect breathing difficulties;
- obesity or fullness are important factors affecting breathing;
- smoking, panic attacks and fear;
Significant causes of difficulty breathing include:
- asthma, high blood pressure, bronchitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, the most basic signs to go to the doctor and start treatment;
- Disease of the heart, blood vessels, complication of angina;
- bad job of cardio-vascular system, in this case, the heart is not able to enrich the internal organs with oxygen, this can lead to irreversible consequences;
- Diabetes, blood infection, allergies.
What are the signs of difficulty breathing?
To understand that breathing is disturbed, you need to listen to how a person breathes. On average, an adult has 17-20 breaths per minute, and a child has 31-35 breaths. The rhythm is calculated by the rise and fall of the chest. If a person has chronic illness, then his rhythm is a little less than expected. The main sign of difficulty breathing is slow communication, it becomes very difficult for a person to speak and perceive what is being said to him. And in extreme cases the person even starts to stutter. It is difficult for a person to concentrate, so-so difficult breathing affects the performance of the brain. The patient begins to breathe deeply to alleviate his lack.
Reasons to see a doctor:
- sensations of compression of the chest, aching pain;
- even in calmness there is a great lack of air;
- it is difficult to sleep on your stomach or on your side;
- when a person sleeps, wheezing sounds are heard;
- hard to swallow;
- when a person is resting, he has shortness of breath;
- The fever persists for several days.
Difficulty breathing can occur with diseases that are associated with the respiratory organs of the cardiovascular system. Such diseases can be asthma, lung and bronchial cancer, congenital disease of the cardiovascular system, pneumonia, endocarditis, pulmonary edema. In this case, the lungs cannot cope with their task, and a lack of air begins. All these diseases require a visit to the doctor.
A wheeze is a bubbling sound during inhalation. They occur when something blocks air in the throat. They may also be due to loans respiratory tract. The narrowing of the bronchi can be accompanied by blockage of the mucosal sputum, which is why bronchial asthma appears, which prevents the patient from inhaling completely. In such cases, you should immediately consult a doctor or an ambulance.
To make breathing easier, there are a number of exercises that will help. For example, you need to take a pose so that the spine is straight and the shoulders are laid back. In this position, your lungs will take maximum amount oxygen and over time you will feel much better. AT this exercise you can use a pillow of any hardness to support the spine and abduct the shoulders.
Only a specialist can determine the cause of your illness. Never self-medicate, even if the lack of air appeared due to fear or anger, you will only make yourself worse. Breathing is important for a person not only to be healthy, but also in order to survive, so do not ignore going to the doctor and do not think that everything will pass by itself.
If you want to make it easier for you, do not be lazy and get up from the couch, move around, at least 20-30 minutes. If you can't get out of bed, do it every hour breathing exercises. Deep breath and complete exhalation, and so on for 3-5 minutes. Doing slow, deep breathing exercises through the nose is also helpful. Remember to take a short rest after each exercise, as you can overwork yourself and make things worse.
In a dream, labored breathing is also strongly manifested. It occurs mainly in men due to increasing age or obesity. There are four main syndromes that cause shortness of breath during sleep:
- central apnea syndrome;
- obstructive sleep apnea syndrome;
- Cheyne-Stokes syndrome;
- Hypoventilation.
With these symptoms, there increased drowsiness, high sweating, snoring during sleep, restless sleep.
Watch your health, do not forget to visit a doctor. Good luck to you!

If a person is concerned about shortness of breath, the causes of lack of air can be different: diseases of the lungs, bronchi, heart, circulatory and nervous systems. This symptom occurs when the brain does not receive enough oxygen.

The essence of the problem

Difficulty breathing when broncho-obstructive syndrome- a condition that occurs in bronchitis, COPD and bronchial asthma. Despite the fact that the causes of these diseases are different, the mechanism for the development of shortness of breath has common features- due to an inflammatory process or spasm, the lumen of the bronchi narrows, resulting in severe shortness of breath on exhalation, the exhalation becomes long and noisy, and until it ends, the patient will not be able to take a breath. Air, poor in oxygen, accumulates in the lungs, and the oxygen saturation of the blood drops, so there is a feeling of lack of air. In severe attacks of bronchial asthma, hypoxia is so pronounced that the patient may lose consciousness. In bronchitis and COPD, shortness of breath occurs and increases with exercise, but with severe course may also occur at rest.

The ingress of a foreign body into the bronchi causes difficulty in breathing both on inhalation and exhalation, the severity of shortness of breath depends on the size of the body that interferes with breathing.

Difficulty breathing also occurs with restrictive pathologies of the lungs.

The feeling of lack of air occurs with congestion in the pulmonary circulation. The cause of stagnation of blood in a small circle can be left ventricular failure, stenosis aortic valve or coarctation of the aorta, pulmonary vein stenosis and other diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Under these conditions, blood enters the small circle from the right ventricle, but the left ventricle is not able to ensure its flow into the large circle in the required volume. Blood is retained in the small circle, but its oxygen saturation does not increase, but gas exchange with lung tissues takes place. The amount of blood flowing to the brain and its oxygen content decreases and the patient begins to experience symptoms oxygen starvation- He is out of breath, but breathing is not difficult. With congestion in the pulmonary circulation, hemosiderosis or more may occur. dangerous state- pulmonary edema. There may be a feeling that there is not enough air after a heart attack, if it was extensive, and the restoration of heart function was incomplete.

Conditions that require emergency care

There are several conditions that are accompanied, among other things, by a feeling of lack of air, when it becomes difficult for the patient to breathe, and immediate assistance is required to the patient. The most dangerous of them asthmatic status, myocardial infarction and pulmonary edema. Unlike the diseases described above, which develop for a long time, sometimes decades, these life-threatening pathological conditions occur acutely.

Asthmatic status is a condition that occurs in patients with bronchial asthma upon contact with large quantity allergen or with several attacks following one after another. In status asthmaticus, due to bronchospasm, the patient cannot exhale, and the air-filled lungs do not allow a full breath to be taken. Characteristic wheezing can be heard at a distance. The face becomes cyanotic, swell neck veins, the patient is in a state of panic. Asthmatic status does not stop on its own, and without medical help, loss of consciousness and death occurs.

Emergency care for status asthmaticus - first of all, it is necessary to calm the patient, you need to talk with him, giving clear and unambiguous instructions. He needs to be persuaded to accept. orthopnea position with a fixed shoulder girdle (standing or sitting, leaning hands on hard surface), in this position, auxiliary muscles are more easily involved in breathing, and it is also necessary to give him commands to breathe in and out, this helps not only to cope with panic, but also allows the patient to maintain external respiration despite bronchospasm. It should be remembered that even those patients who have been suffering from bronchial asthma for a long time and have already experienced status asthmaticus cannot always alleviate their condition on their own.

But these measures are only temporary, allowing to stabilize the patient's condition until the ambulance arrives. The arriving team has the opportunity drug therapy status asthmaticus - usually used for this intravenous administration aminophylline, which causes relaxation of the muscles of the bronchi. Bronchoselective β-blockers are also used. An oxygen mask is used to relieve symptoms.

Myocardial infarction declares itself, first of all, with pain behind the sternum, which does not go away on its own for ten minutes or more, is not stopped by painkillers and nitroglycerin. Difficulty breathing, feeling short of breath, fear of death make it possible to diagnose a heart attack quite accurately, even without an ECG machine at hand.

First aid for a heart attack is taking aspirin once, nitroglycerin no more than three tablets to relieve pain, once - beta-blockers, if the patient has them with him. The patient should be half-sitting or lying down, he cannot move. It is necessary to provide maximum possible access fresh air into the room: open a window, unfasten a collar, tie or belt that makes it difficult to breathe.

The arriving ambulance team will administer heparin subcutaneously to the patient, if necessary - a thrombolytic drug, and give an oxygen mask to his face. This condition necessarily requires hospitalization, as much as possible short time because the sooner treatment is started, the more complete will be the restoration of the patient's quality of life.

Pulmonary edema

Pulmonary edema is a condition that develops in patients suffering from congestion in the small circle, or can become a complication of myocardial infarction, and, conversely, pulmonary edema can lead to a heart attack. Its symptoms:

• shortness of breath, turning into suffocation;
• cough with copious frothy sputum, sometimes pinkish;
• fear of death.

The patient is somewhat relieved when he sits with his feet on the floor (orthopnea with legs down). Precisely because of the risk of pulmonary edema, it is preferable for a patient with myocardial infarction to sit rather than lie down.

First aid - the patient must be helped to take the position of orthopnea with his legs down, it is strictly contraindicated to move. In order to reduce the volume of blood circulating in the small circle, you can put on lower limbs tourniquets (no more than half an hour). Vapor inhalation ethyl alcohol reduces the amount of foam in the lungs. You can take diuretics, it is absolutely impossible to drink liquid.

The arriving ambulance team will administer diuretics intravenously, use an oxygen mask to reduce foaming and increase oxygen supply to the blood, and prescribe drugs that facilitate the work of the heart in order to ensure adequate blood flow in the organs, primarily in the brain.

Features of the treatment of lack of air will be made up of the diagnosis and the results of the examination in the hospital. Take care of your health and do not forget to visit a doctor!

Not enough air: causes of breathing difficulties - cardiogenic, pulmonary, psychogenic, others

Breathing is a natural physiological act that occurs constantly and to which most of us do not pay attention, because the body itself regulates the depth and frequency respiratory movements depending on the situation. The feeling that there is not enough air, perhaps, is familiar to everyone. It can appear after a quick jog, climbing stairs to a high floor, with strong excitement, but healthy body quickly copes with such shortness of breath, bringing breathing back to normal.

If short-term shortness of breath after exercise does not cause serious concerns, quickly disappearing during rest, then a long or sudden onset a sharp difficulty in breathing can signal a serious pathology, often requiring immediate treatment. Acute lack of air when closing the airways with a foreign body, pulmonary edema, an asthmatic attack can cost a life, so any respiratory disorder requires clarification of its cause and timely treatment.

In the process of breathing and providing tissues with oxygen, not only the respiratory system is involved, although its role, of course, is paramount. It is impossible to imagine breathing without correct operation muscular frame chest and diaphragm, heart and blood vessels, brain. Breathing is influenced by the composition of the blood, hormonal status, the activity of the nerve centers of the brain and many external causes - sports training, plentiful food, emotions.

The body successfully adjusts to fluctuations in the concentration of gases in the blood and tissues, increasing, if necessary, the frequency of respiratory movements. With a lack of oxygen or increased needs in it, breathing quickens. acidosis associated with infectious diseases, fever, tumors provokes an increase in breathing to remove excess carbon dioxide from the blood and normalize its composition. These mechanisms turn on themselves, without our will and efforts, but in some cases they become pathological.

Any respiratory disorder, even if its cause seems obvious and harmless, requires examination and a differentiated approach to treatment, therefore, if you feel that there is not enough air, it is better to immediately go to a general practitioner, cardiologist, neurologist, psychotherapist.

Causes and types of respiratory failure

When it is difficult for a person to breathe and there is not enough air, they speak of shortness of breath. This sign is considered an adaptive act in response to an existing pathology or reflects a natural physiological process adaptation to changing external conditions. In some cases, it becomes difficult to breathe, but unpleasant feeling lack of air does not occur, since hypoxia is eliminated by an increased frequency of respiratory movements - in case of poisoning carbon monoxide, work in breathing apparatus, a sharp rise to a height.

Shortness of breath is inspiratory and expiratory. In the first case, there is not enough air when inhaling, in the second - when exhaling, but it is also possible mixed type when it is difficult to both inhale and exhale.

Shortness of breath does not always accompany the disease, it is physiological, and this is a completely natural condition. Causes physiological shortness of breath become:

• Physical exercise;
• Excitement, strong emotional experiences;
• Being in a stuffy, poorly ventilated room, in the highlands.

Physiological increase in breathing occurs reflexively and through little time passes. people with bad physical form those who have a sedentary "office" job suffer from shortness of breath in response to physical effort more often than those who regularly visit the gym, pool or just do daily hiking. As the overall physical development, shortness of breath occurs less frequently.

Pathological shortness of breath can develop acutely or disturb constantly, even at rest, significantly aggravated by the slightest physical effort. A person suffocates when the airways are quickly closed by a foreign body, swelling of the tissues of the larynx, lungs and other severe conditions. When breathing in this case, the body does not even receive the necessary minimum quantity oxygen, and other severe disorders are added to shortness of breath.

Main pathological causes on which it is difficult to breathe are:

• Diseases respiratory system- pulmonary shortness of breath;
• Pathology of the heart and blood vessels - cardiac dyspnea;
• Violations nervous regulation the act of breathing - shortness of breath of the central type;
• Violation gas composition blood - hematogenous shortness of breath.

cardiac causes

Heart disease is one of the most common reasons why it becomes difficult to breathe. The patient complains that he does not have enough air and notes the appearance of edema on the legs, fatigue etc. Usually, patients whose breathing is disturbed against the background of changes in the heart have already been examined and are even taking appropriate drugs, but shortness of breath can not only persist, but in some cases is aggravated.

With a pathology of the heart, there is not enough air when inhaling, that is, inspiratory dyspnea. It accompanies, can persist even at rest in its severe stages, is aggravated at night when the patient lies.

The most common reasons:

1. arrhythmias;
2. and myocardial dystrophy;
3. Defects - congenital lead to shortness of breath in childhood and even the neonatal period;
4. Inflammatory processes in the myocardium, pericarditis;
5. Heart failure.

The occurrence of breathing difficulties in cardiac pathology is most often associated with the progression of heart failure, in which there is either no adequate cardiac output and tissues suffer from hypoxia, or stagnation occurs in the lungs due to failure of the myocardium of the left ventricle ().

In addition to shortness of breath, often combined with dry excruciating, in persons with cardiac pathology, there are other characteristic complaints that somewhat facilitate diagnosis - pain in the region of the heart, "evening" edema, cyanosis skin, interruptions in the heart. It becomes more difficult to breathe in the supine position, so most patients even sleep half-sitting, thus reducing the flow venous blood from the legs to the heart and manifestations of shortness of breath.

symptoms of heart failure

With an attack of cardiac asthma, which can quickly turn into alveolar pulmonary edema, a patient in literally suffocates - the respiratory rate exceeds 20 per minute, the face turns blue, the neck veins swell, the sputum becomes frothy. Pulmonary edema requires emergency care.

Treatment of cardiac dyspnea depends on the underlying cause that caused it. An adult patient with heart failure is prescribed diuretics (furosemide, veroshpiron, diacarb), ACE inhibitors(lisinopril, enalapril, etc.), beta-blockers and antiarrhythmics, cardiac glycosides, oxygen therapy.

Children are shown diuretics (diacarb), and drugs of other groups are strictly dosed due to possible side effects and contraindications in childhood. birth defects, in which the child begins to choke from the very first months of life, may require urgent surgical correction and even heart transplants.

Pulmonary causes

Lung pathology is the second reason leading to difficulty in breathing, while both inhalation and exhalation are possible. Pulmonary pathology with respiratory failure is:

• Chronic obstructive diseases - asthma, bronchitis, pneumosclerosis, pneumoconiosis, pulmonary emphysema;
• Pneumo- and hydrothorax;
• tumors;
• Foreign bodies of the respiratory tract;
• in the branches pulmonary arteries.

Chronic inflammatory and sclerotic changes in the lung parenchyma greatly contribute to respiratory failure. They are aggravated by smoking, poor environmental conditions, recurrent infections of the respiratory system. Shortness of breath at first worries during physical exertion, gradually acquiring the character of a permanent one, as the disease passes into a more severe and irreversible stage of the course.

With pathology of the lungs, the gas composition of the blood is disturbed, there is a lack of oxygen, which, first of all, is not enough for the head and brain. Severe hypoxia provokes a metabolic disorder in nervous tissue and development of encephalopathy.

Patients with bronchial asthma are well aware of how breathing is disturbed during an attack: it becomes very difficult to exhale, there is discomfort and even pain in the chest, arrhythmia is possible, sputum is difficult to cough up and is extremely scarce, the cervical veins swell. Patients with this shortness of breath sit with their hands on their knees - this position reduces venous return and stress on the heart, alleviating the condition. Most often it is difficult to breathe and there is not enough air for such patients at night or in the early morning hours.

In a severe asthma attack, the patient suffocates, the skin becomes bluish, panic and some disorientation are possible, and status asthmaticus may be accompanied by convulsions and loss of consciousness.

Respiratory problems due to chronic lung pathology the appearance of the patient changes: the chest becomes barrel-shaped, the spaces between the ribs increase, the jugular veins are large and dilated, as well as peripheral veins limbs. Expansion of the right half of the heart against the background of sclerotic processes in the lungs leads to its insufficiency, and shortness of breath becomes mixed and more severe, that is, not only the lungs cannot cope with breathing, but the heart cannot provide adequate blood flow, overfilling the venous part with blood great circle circulation.

Not enough air also in case pneumonia, pneumothorax, hemothorax. With inflammation of the lung parenchyma, it becomes not only difficult to breathe, the temperature also rises, on the face clear signs intoxication, and cough is accompanied by sputum production.

An extremely serious reason sudden violation breathing is considered to be inhalation of a foreign body. It can be a piece of food or a small part of a toy that the baby accidentally inhales while playing. The victim with a foreign body begins to suffocate, turns blue, quickly loses consciousness, cardiac arrest is possible if help does not arrive in time.

Thromboembolism of the pulmonary vessels can also lead to sudden and rapidly increasing shortness of breath, cough. It occurs more often than a person suffering from pathology of the vessels of the legs, heart, destructive processes in the pancreas. With thromboembolism, the condition can be extremely severe with an increase in asphyxia, blue skin, rapid cessation of breathing and heartbeat.

In children, shortness of breath is most often associated with the ingress of a foreign body during the game, pneumonia, swelling of the tissues of the larynx. Croup- edema with stenosis of the larynx, which can accompany a wide variety of inflammatory processes ranging from banal laryngitis to diphtheria. If the mother notices that the baby is breathing frequently, turns pale or blue, shows obvious anxiety or breathing is completely interrupted, then you should immediately seek help. Severe violations breathing in children are fraught with asphyxia and death.

In some cases, the cause of severe shortness of breath is allergy and Quincke's edema, which are also accompanied by stenosis of the lumen of the larynx. The reason may be food allergen, wasp sting, inhalation of plant pollen, medicinal product. In these cases, both the child and the adult require urgent health care for cupping allergic reaction, and in case of asphyxia, a tracheostomy and artificial ventilation of the lungs may be required.

Treatment of pulmonary dyspnea should be differentiated. If the cause of everything is a foreign body, then it must be removed as soon as possible, with allergic edema the child and the adult are shown the introduction antihistamines, glucocorticoid hormones, adrenaline. In case of asphyxia, a tracheo- or conicotomy is performed.

In bronchial asthma, the treatment is multistage, including beta-agonists (salbutamol) in sprays, anticholinergics (ipratropium bromide), methylxanthines (eufillin), glucocorticosteroids (triamcinolone, prednisolone).

Acute and chronic inflammatory processes require antibacterial and detoxification therapy, and compression of the lungs with pneumo- or hydrothorax, obstruction of the airway by a tumor is an indication for surgery (puncture pleural cavity, thoracotomy, removal of part of the lung, etc.).

Cerebral causes

In some cases, breathing difficulties are associated with brain damage, because the most important nerve centers regulating the activity of the lungs, blood vessels, heart. Shortness of breath of this type is characteristic of structural damage to the brain tissue - trauma, neoplasm, stroke, edema, encephalitis, etc.

Violations respiratory function in brain pathology are very diverse: it is possible both to slow down breathing and to increase it, the appearance of different types abnormal breathing. Many patients with severe brain pathology are on artificial ventilation lungs because they can't breathe on their own.

The toxic effect of the waste products of microbes, fever leads to an increase in hypoxia and acidification internal environment body, which causes shortness of breath - the patient breathes often and noisily. Thus, the body seeks to quickly get rid of excess carbon dioxide and provide tissues with oxygen.

A relatively harmless cause of cerebral dyspnea can be considered functional disorders in brain activity and peripheral nervous system-, neurosis, hysteria. In these cases, shortness of breath is of a “nervous” nature, and in some cases this is noticeable to the naked eye, even to a non-specialist.

With intercostal neuralgia, the patient feels severe pain in half of the chest, aggravated by movement and inhalation, especially impressionable patients may panic, breathe rapidly and shallowly. With osteochondrosis, it is difficult to breathe, and constant pain in the spine can provoke chronic shortness of breath, which can be difficult to distinguish from shortness of breath in pulmonary or cardiac pathology.

Treatment of difficulty breathing in diseases of the musculoskeletal system includes physiotherapy exercises, physiotherapy, massage, medical support in the form of anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics.

Many expectant mothers complain that as the pregnancy progresses, it becomes more difficult for them to breathe. This symptom may well fit into the norm, because the growing uterus and fetus raise the diaphragm and reduce the expansion of the lungs, hormonal changes and the formation of the placenta contribute to an increase in the number of respiratory movements to provide the tissues of both organisms with oxygen.

However, during pregnancy, breathing should be carefully assessed so as not to miss a seemingly natural increase in it. serious pathology, which may be anemia, thromboembolic syndrome, progression of heart failure with a defect in a woman, etc.

One of the most dangerous reasons why a woman can begin to choke during pregnancy is pulmonary embolism. This condition is a threat to life, accompanied by a sharp increase in breathing, which becomes noisy and ineffective. Possible asphyxia and death without emergency care.

Thus, considering only the most common causes shortness of breath, it becomes clear that this symptom can indicate dysfunction of almost all organs or systems of the body, and in some cases it is difficult to isolate the main pathogenic factor. Patients who find it difficult to breathe need a thorough examination, and if the patient is suffocating, urgent qualified help is needed.

Any case of shortness of breath requires a trip to the doctor to find out its cause, self-medication in this case is unacceptable and can lead to very serious consequences. This is especially true of respiratory disorders in children, pregnant women and sudden attacks of shortness of breath in people of any age.

Video: what prevents breathing? Program “Live healthy!”

Shortness of breath in modern medical practice is called a feeling of lack of air associated with a violation of the rhythm of breathing. When our body lacks oxygen, it increases the frequency and rhythm of breathing, thereby eliminating its deficiency.

Depending on the various reasons and factors that cause shortness of breath, shortness of breath, there are several types, which, in turn, are divided into subspecies.

Types of shortness of breath:

1. Due to occurrence:
   • Physiological- is natural reaction organism into physical or mental activity. It can occur when breathing adapts to certain conditions (with an increase in atmospheric pressure);
   • Pathological- occurs as a result of disruption of the body by diseases (pneumonia, bronchitis, heart failure, myocardial infarction, hysteria) or poisons.
2. By clinic:
   • objective- can be determined by medical research.
   • subjective- based on the sensations of the patient without a change in the rhythm and frequency of breathing and is not confirmed in any way medical examination. The occurrence of such shortness of breath can be observed in mental illness.
   • mixed– confirmed objective research and the patient's feelings. Most diseases are accompanied by this type of shortness of breath.
3. Depending on the violation of the phase of breathing:
   • Inspiratory dyspnea- occurs due to difficulty in breathing (the cause may be a narrowing of the lumen of the larynx or a swelling of the trachea).
   • - occurs due to difficulty exhaling (the cause may be sputum in the lumen of the bronchi or bronchospasm).
   • Mixed dyspnea- when breathing becomes difficult, both when inhaling and exhaling (dyspnea with pneumonia).

What is expiratory dyspnea?

As mentioned above, expiratory dyspnea is the difficulty in exhaling during respiratory activity.

There are several degrees of severity of shortness of breath:

1. Easy degree- occurs when walking for a long time.
2. Average degree- the pace of walking slows down, it becomes necessary to make stops to normalize breathing.
3. Severe degree– stops when walking become more frequent, every 5-10 minutes. Breathing is noisy, heavy.
4. Very severe degree- Difficulty breathing even at rest active movements impossible due to increasing suffocation.

The reasons

There are many diseases, the symptom of which is expiratory dyspnea. Most often, these are diseases of the respiratory system (bronchial asthma, pneumosclerosis).

Let's consider the main ones:

Symptoms

It often happens that a person cannot immediately diagnose incipient shortness of breath. Problems associated with difficult exhalation can be associated with physical exertion or nervous tension.

In the meantime, the pathology that causes breathing problems develops further and the patient's condition worsens significantly.

Do not neglect such a symptom as shortness of breath. Contact a specialist if in doubt.

What are the symptoms of expiratory dyspnea?

What is typical for expiratory dyspnea:

1. The first symptom will be significant prolongation of exhalation. The patient may notice that the exhalation has become 1.5-2 times longer than the inhalation.
2. On auscultatory examination (listening to the chest), crepitus and dry wheezing during exhalation. At severe degree shortness of breath these wheezing can be heard at a distance.
3. Respiratory failure such as expiratory dyspnea may be accompanied by painful sensations during breathing movements.
4. Possible development cyanosis of lips and nose, acrocyanosis, general pallor of the skin.
5. If the cause of expiratory dyspnea is bronchial asthma, then feeling of lack of air occurs shortly after contact with allergenic substance or subject. With a long course of asthma, it is possible box sound in the lungs with shortness of breath.
6. pressure inside chest cavity changes, as a result of which, when exhaling intercostal spaces come forward.

If, with frequent shortness of breath, you observe at least a few of these symptoms, then this is a serious reason to consult a specialist. You may be developing a lung disease.

Diagnostics

In order to diagnose expiratory dyspnea, you need to see a doctor. Get checked out by a GP and possibly a cardiologist.

So, what methods diagnose the development of expiratory dyspnea:

• Examination by a doctor. Some patients have this severe shortness of breath that the doctor can hear it from a distance and determine its frequency, rhythm and pace.
• On auscultation the specialist will hear dry whistling rales (with an attack of bronchial asthma that has begun);
• Percussion a box sound in the chest cavity is determined.
• Conducting an ECG(if there is a suspicion that the respiratory failure occurred against the background of cardiovascular pathology);
• radiograph helps to determine the disease against which shortness of breath developed (for example, with pneumonia).
• If we define vital capacity lungs(VC), then you can find out the degree of bronchial obstruction.
• Increase in body temperature against the background of expiratory dyspnea indicates the development of obstructive bronchitis.
• For getting additional information Your doctor may order a blood gas test.

All these methods in combination will help to obtain the most accurate data and identify the nature of shortness of breath, what pathology it is caused by and what methods should be used to eliminate it.

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Treatment should always be chosen by a specialist. The use of any means and preparations without medical advice is undesirable, since their use can only aggravate the situation.

Here are some methods and drugs that a doctor can prescribe for the treatment of shortness of breath:

Prevention of shortness of breath

As you know, it is better to carry out high-quality prevention of shortness of breath and the diseases that cause it than to fight it for the rest of your life. By following the recommendations below, you can prevent those ailments that cause difficulty breathing.

Here are the methods by which you will ensure a life without shortness of breath:

1. Firstly, if you smoke, then get rid of this addiction. Smoking affects our lungs and bronchi, disrupts not only the respiratory, but also all other systems of our body.
2. Secondly, follow physical exercises. Skip the elevator, go one stop from where you want to go, walk fresh air at least half an hour every day.
3. Adjust your weight. Everyone knows that excess weight- this is additional load on the heart and blood vessels. Don't strain your heart if you want to avoid shortness of breath.

   If you are overweight, then go in for sports and start eating right. Aggregate physical activity and weight loss will contribute to the fact that shortness of breath will stop bothering you.

4. Get expert advice right away about anxiety symptoms and states. Don't neglect alarm signals of your body.
5. Treat the underlying disease that causes bouts of shortness of breath.
6. Visits to the coniferous forest will be useful and salt caves. The air there has amazing purity and healing properties.
7. Every year it is worth visiting narrow specialists, take tests and do fluorography. This will help to identify diseases that cause breathing problems in time.
8. Avoid nervous tension and mental shocks.
9. Ask your doctor assign you a course breathing exercises if you feel it is necessary.

Emergency help with a sharp attack of shortness of breath

All activities will be aimed at maintaining the patient's condition until the arrival of the ambulance team:

1. Have the person sit on a hard surface;
2. Reassure him, as an attack of shortness of breath is accompanied by panic and fear of death;
3. Unbutton the collar of the shirt, remove tight clothing from the patient;
4. Indoors, open windows and let fresh air in;
5. If possible, increase the humidity in the room. You can hang wet rags and towels on the batteries, moisten the air with a spray bottle.
6. The room in which the person is located must be warm. Warm the patient, if possible, with heating pads or a blanket.
7. Call the ambulance.

All these activities will help improve the condition of a person with a sharp attack of shortness of breath and help him hold out until the start of qualified medical care.

Dangerous accompanying symptoms

These symptoms include pain in the intercostal muscles when breathing. Sometimes the pain can be so severe that it leads to the development pain syndrome. He, in turn, increases nervous excitement patient and increase dyspnea. It turns out a vicious circle.

Possible complications and consequences of shortness of breath:

• oxygen starvation as a consequence of insufficient oxygen saturation of the body. The brain suffers, the development of fainting is possible.
• If you do not contact specialists when shortness of breath occurs, then there is a chance to miss the development of such serious illnesses how pleurisy, pneumonia, bronchial asthma and others.

Do not wait for the occurrence of complications and progression of the disease. Consult a general practitioner, cardiologist or pulmonologist if you consider your shortness of breath to be pathological. It is better to save yourself once again and not miss the moment for treatment.