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What Causes Shortness Of Breath?
Question: What is causing my shortness of breath.............when I hurry...............walk up or down stairs or a hill ?
Brief Answer:
need to assess lung function
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The echo would have been able to assess cardiac function and determine if this was the cause.
If this was normal and there is no other indicator of cardiac disease then you would need to consider whether the shortness of breath is related to the lungs or due to anemia (low red cell mass).
A chest xray would be able to assess the lungs and this can be requested by your doctor and a complete blood count can check your hemoglobin level (would be low in anemia).
Pulmonary function test is also another way of checking lung function.
Anemia causes shortness of breath by decreasing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.
If present your doctor would need to determine the type and cause.
If the blood test and chest ray is normal then combined with the normal echo, the shortness of breath is not due to any serious condition and would be due general fitness.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
need to assess lung function
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
The echo would have been able to assess cardiac function and determine if this was the cause.
If this was normal and there is no other indicator of cardiac disease then you would need to consider whether the shortness of breath is related to the lungs or due to anemia (low red cell mass).
A chest xray would be able to assess the lungs and this can be requested by your doctor and a complete blood count can check your hemoglobin level (would be low in anemia).
Pulmonary function test is also another way of checking lung function.
Anemia causes shortness of breath by decreasing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.
If present your doctor would need to determine the type and cause.
If the blood test and chest ray is normal then combined with the normal echo, the shortness of breath is not due to any serious condition and would be due general fitness.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
what is causing my shortness of breath when I hurry or climb stairs or hills and also my blood pressure to go up and also become light headed
Brief Answer:
need further tests
Detailed Answer:
HI
It may be anemia (low red cell mass) or a problem with the lungs.
You would need additional tests, such as those mentioned above, to determine if either of these are a problem.
A blood test would be able to check for anemia. Anemia is low red cell mass. When this is low, the blood cannot carry as much oxygen. This can cause shortness of breath, can also cause light headedness and affect BP.
A chest x ray or pulmonary function test would be able to look at the lungs to see if there is any problem there.
Only by having further testing done, can the cause be found.
Please feel free to ask anything else
need further tests
Detailed Answer:
HI
It may be anemia (low red cell mass) or a problem with the lungs.
You would need additional tests, such as those mentioned above, to determine if either of these are a problem.
A blood test would be able to check for anemia. Anemia is low red cell mass. When this is low, the blood cannot carry as much oxygen. This can cause shortness of breath, can also cause light headedness and affect BP.
A chest x ray or pulmonary function test would be able to look at the lungs to see if there is any problem there.
Only by having further testing done, can the cause be found.
Please feel free to ask anything else
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
with the shortness of breath my blood pressure goes up and I become light headed .
Brief Answer:
shortness of breath- decreased oxygen
Detailed Answer:
HI
Yes shortness of breath can be associated with symptoms of dizziness or light headedness.
If there is shortness of breath- it can cause decreased oxygen in the blood- which would cause decrease oxygen to the brain (temporarily)- which would cause the light head feeling.
It can also be associated with changes in blood pressure.
It would be important to find out the cause.
Unfortunately only so much can be done with just knowing the medical history, you would need to be examined by your doctor and investigations done.
Your doctor will listen to your chest, check for pallor and do a general examination.
The investigations would be as mentioned previously- complete blood count and x ray, possible pulmonary function test
TREATMENT would depend on the results of the examination and tests.
If it is anemia- then the doctor would look for the cause and type
If it is related to the lungs then would treat this appropriately
shortness of breath- decreased oxygen
Detailed Answer:
HI
Yes shortness of breath can be associated with symptoms of dizziness or light headedness.
If there is shortness of breath- it can cause decreased oxygen in the blood- which would cause decrease oxygen to the brain (temporarily)- which would cause the light head feeling.
It can also be associated with changes in blood pressure.
It would be important to find out the cause.
Unfortunately only so much can be done with just knowing the medical history, you would need to be examined by your doctor and investigations done.
Your doctor will listen to your chest, check for pallor and do a general examination.
The investigations would be as mentioned previously- complete blood count and x ray, possible pulmonary function test
TREATMENT would depend on the results of the examination and tests.
If it is anemia- then the doctor would look for the cause and type
If it is related to the lungs then would treat this appropriately
Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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