Hi! I hope to find someone who can help me with a mysterious condition. I m 33 years old and ever since I can remember (childhood) I cannot read aloud without becoming winded (after a full page I d be noticeably breathless). It was also tiring for me to sing aloud and even to talk nonstop for more than a few minutes, as in giving a speech, nor was I ever able to run much. My parents never took these complaints seriously because I seemed very healthy otherwise and I eventually had two pregnancies and births without complications. Anyway, recently there was a tragedy in my family and I became depressed and unable to sleep, the reason why this is relevant is I ve noticed that when I haven t slept at night and attempt to go about my day anyhow, the dyspnea becomes so bad I cannot speak 3 words without having to stop and catch my breath, this is sometimes accompanied by a slight pain/pressure in the sternum. Then, oddly, after I get enough rest (8+ hours), the severe dyspnea and chest pain stop (even though the more minor symptoms I ve had since youth remain). From all of this, I m leaning toward heart disease (lung disease doesn t get better after rest, does it?). I suppose my question would be, what type of heart disease is this likely to be? and, is it possible I have always had this (my history of dispnea as a child) and it went undiagnosed during checkups (I recently gave birth to 2 children and no one noticed anything unusual)? Thank you for any thoughts on this matter!