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What Causes Shortness Of Breath And Chest Tightness With History Of Pneumonia?
I have been having shortness of breath on exertion with my normal heart rate of 110-120. I had pneumonia in May of this year but still have a raspy voice. I sometimes have tightness of chest, I had an ekg ran and it showed ischemia on one , they have done three I believe. My thyroid was normal. Not sure what else is wrong. I am a 48 year old male.
Wed, 12 Oct 2016
Hello.
Your symptoms suggest 3 possibilities:
1. An inadequately treated pneumonia
2. A blockage in the heart
3. Thyroid disorder
Shortness of breath on exertion is very highly suggestive of a heart condition. If you did have any signs of ischemia on the ECG, I suggest you get an echocardiogram and a treadmill test done as early as possible as it may have serious implications.
Inadequately treated pneumonia may also cause fullness of breath due to inadequately expanding lung. This can be confirmed on a chest Xray and a blood test like complete blood count. If you are producing sputum, it may be tested also to ascertain what organisms are the cause and what antibiotics work against them.
Thyroid disorders can only be ascertained if all the 3 tests i.e. TSH, free T3 and free T4 are done. If not, I suggest you get them done. Thyroid disorders especially hyperthyroidism can give rise to most of your symptoms like increased resting heart rate (normal is around 60-100), the ischemia and shortness of breath can be explained by slowly developing heart failure due to fast beating of the heart. The raspy voice can also be explained by a thyroid nodule pressing on the nerve controlling the voice box muscles. This can be confirmed on an ultrasound of the thyroid or an radioactive iodine uptake scan.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
Your symptoms suggest 3 possibilities:
1. An inadequately treated pneumonia
2. A blockage in the heart
3. Thyroid disorder
Shortness of breath on exertion is very highly suggestive of a heart condition. If you did have any signs of ischemia on the ECG, I suggest you get an echocardiogram and a treadmill test done as early as possible as it may have serious implications.
Inadequately treated pneumonia may also cause fullness of breath due to inadequately expanding lung. This can be confirmed on a chest Xray and a blood test like complete blood count. If you are producing sputum, it may be tested also to ascertain what organisms are the cause and what antibiotics work against them.
Thyroid disorders can only be ascertained if all the 3 tests i.e. TSH, free T3 and free T4 are done. If not, I suggest you get them done. Thyroid disorders especially hyperthyroidism can give rise to most of your symptoms like increased resting heart rate (normal is around 60-100), the ischemia and shortness of breath can be explained by slowly developing heart failure due to fast beating of the heart. The raspy voice can also be explained by a thyroid nodule pressing on the nerve controlling the voice box muscles. This can be confirmed on an ultrasound of the thyroid or an radioactive iodine uptake scan.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Dr Geeta
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