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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Shortness Of Breath And Chest Discomfort With Mild Exertion?

What should I do? I have been to 2 ER s in two states as we were away from home when this occurred. I have extreme shortness of breath with any exertion. Also discomfort, not pain, in my chest off and on and more so with light exertion. I am also very fatigued. They have done chest x-ray, cat scan of chest as number was elevated to 1.28 that shows if you might have a blood clot but can t remember name of that test. That came back okay as well. Multiple EKG s and multiple blood work. Also an Echo Stress test which came back fine. Discharged me and I am home but having the same symptoms. Can t even do light housework without having to set and rest every 4-5 minutes. I do not know what to do. They did ask me to follow up with my doctor but this is a weekend but I guess I have to wait until then. Since I ve never had any breathing problems nor chest discomfort previously, this is a little frightening for me. Thanks for any advice.
Tue, 28 Oct 2014
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Pulmonologist 's  Response
Thanks for your question on HCM.
Since your EKG and stress tests are normal than cardiac causes are unlikely.
I advice you to get done pulmonary function test (PFT).
This will help in diagnosis of acute bronchitis as a cause of your symptoms.
Another possibility is anaemia and hypothyroidism. In both these conditions breathlessness on exersion occur.
So get done Hb level and thyroid profile.
If all of the above are normal than no need to worry. It may be related to stress and anxiety.
So avoid stress and anxiety.
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What Causes Shortness Of Breath And Chest Discomfort With Mild Exertion?

Thanks for your question on HCM. Since your EKG and stress tests are normal than cardiac causes are unlikely. I advice you to get done pulmonary function test (PFT). This will help in diagnosis of acute bronchitis as a cause of your symptoms. Another possibility is anaemia and hypothyroidism. In both these conditions breathlessness on exersion occur. So get done Hb level and thyroid profile. If all of the above are normal than no need to worry. It may be related to stress and anxiety. So avoid stress and anxiety.