Dyspnea: Causes & Reasons

Warning: Do not use in emergencies, if pregnant, if under 18, or as a substitute for a doctor’s advice or diagnosis. Learn more

Possible Causes for Dyspnea

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

MEASUREMENT OF DYSPNEA IN COPD Section: The two purposes of measuring dyspnea are: to differentiate between patients who have less dyspnea and those who have more dyspnea [dx.doi.org]

What effect do these improvements in lung mechanics have on dyspnea? [dx.doi.org]

To measure the severity of dyspnea the principles of psychophysics (stimulus → response relationship) can be applied. [doi.org]

Pulmonary Emphysema

Feasibility, safety, and efficacy were analyzed by means of pulmonary function testing, 6-min walk test, dyspnea score, BODE (body mass index, air-flow obstruction, dyspnea [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Chronic dyspnea was also scored by modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

We present the case of a 6-year-old white boy with chronic cough and dyspnea on exertion. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Psychogenic Hyperventilation

Keywords: Dyspnea, hyperventilation, panic, psychogenic, sighing How to cite this article: Sahasrabudhe TR. Psychogenic dyspnea. [mjdrdypu.org]

[4],[5] However, dyspnea is a very common psychosomatic symptom as well. [mjdrdypu.org]

Ventilator adjustments often cannot fully alleviate dyspnea. [ahcmedia.com]

Pulmonary Edema

[…] describe a case of fatal contralateral RPE in a 59-years-old woman with right lung cancer underwent ultrasound-guided thoracentesis for massive pleural effusion and severe dyspnea [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[…] anxiety Productive cough (could be blood tinged) Palpitations and chest pain Exercise induced dyspnea Orthostatic dyspnea (dyspnea while lying down) Increased weight Bipedal [symptoma.com]

High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a form of high altitude illness characterized by cough, dyspnea upon exertion progressing to dyspnea at rest and eventual death, seen [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Congestive Heart Failure

Features due to left heart failure: Dyspnea, orthopnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea: These symptoms develop due to congestion of the lungs. [symptoma.com]

Major criteria: · Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea · Neck vein distention · Rales · Radiographic cardiomegaly (increasing heart size on chest radiography) · Acute pulmonary edema [medicalcriteria.com]

Dyspnea occurs because of the damming of blood in the lungs resulting in pulmonary venous congestion. Initially dyspnea occurs only at exertion. [symptoma.com]

Heart Failure

We introduced oxycodone for medically refractory dyspnea instead of morphine because of the patient's renal insufficiency. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

After the administration of oxycodone, his dyspnea was alleviated without any adverse opioid effects, such as respiratory depression. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Cardiac Asthma

The patient appears very ill and experiences severe dyspnea and tachypnea. [symptoma.com]

Cardiac asthma is a paroxysmal acute dyspnea generally occurring at night but sometimes following exertion, lasting from minutes to hours and accompanied by a sense of suffocation [jama.jamanetwork.com]

They consist of severe dyspnea, increased work of breathing, and gasping, causing anxiety. [symptoma.com]

Cor Pulmonale

We report the case of a 40-year-old woman who died after 3 days of progressive dyspnea, cough, and pulmonary hypertension. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Abstract A 25-year-old woman with acute dyspnea was found to have nodular shadows in a chest X-ray film. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Furthermore, she rapidly developed progressive dyspnea and hypoxia. [kjim.org]

Pulmonary Embolism

Whenever RTs or other clinicians encounter unexplained dyspnea, PE should be among the diagnoses considered. [rtmagazine.com]

The patient suffered dyspnea after undergoing the injection laryngoplasty. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A 53-year-old man was admitted to the cardiology clinic with complaints of dyspnea, chest pain, and general weakness after walking. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Pulmonary Tumor Embolism

Pulmonary tumor embolism should be considered when patients with malignant disease develop unexplained dyspnea, hypoxemia, and pulmonary hypertension. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

In early January 2010, he suffered from dyspnea on exertion gradually, although cancer progression was not proven by computed tomography (CT) scan. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A high index of suspicion is necessary in individuals who present with respiratory-related symptoms, especially dyspnea. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

High-Output Heart Failure

After the procedure, dyspnea was improved and procedure related complication was not seen. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A 36-year-old male presented with progressive exertional dyspnea over months. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

The pulmonary pathology is recognized by auscultation and symptoms like dyspnea and fatigability. [symptoma.com]

Atelectasis

Patients may have dyspnea or respiratory failure if atelectasis is extensive. They may also develop pneumonia. [merckmanuals.com]

Other characteristics include diminished breath sounds, fever, and increasing dyspnea (shortness of breath). [healthcentral.com]

Pneumonia may cause cough, dyspnea, and pleuritic pain. Pleuritic pain may also be due to the disorder that caused atelectasis (eg, chest trauma, surgery). [merckmanuals.com]

Acute Massive Pulmonary Embolism

All patients had acute onset of PE symptoms and all presented with hemodynamic compromise and dyspnea. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

All patients had hypoxia and dyspnea. No patient had contraindication for thrombolysis. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A73-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit because of sudden onset of dyspnea followed by syncope. [circ.ahajournals.org]

Hemothorax

When ruptured, these cysts may cause hemoptysis, dyspnea, and hydatid thorax. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] After thoracoscopic surgery, the dyspnea and anemia resolved. [symptoma.com]

When ruptured, these cysts may cause hemoptysis, dyspnea, and hydatid thorax. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

The most common symptoms were dyspnea, chest wall pain, and shock. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

AHCM can occur with varied presentations such as chest pain, palpitations, dyspnea, syncope, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, embolic events, ventricular fibrillation [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Patients present at all ages with chest pain, dyspnea, palpitations, and syncope. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A 12-year-old boy presented with palpitations and dyspnea after exercise for 1 year. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Chylothorax

We treated a 39-year-old woman who presented with progressive dyspnea over 6 months. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A patient developed abdominal distension, dyspnea, and nausea due to chylothorax and chylous ascites 1 month after bruising her back. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

X Left a 5 yes no Khurana, 2009 [ 23 ] 12 dyspnea, chest discomfort Bilat. no 1 X Bilat. 9 yes yes e Tallón-Aguilar, 2010 [ 26 ] 13 dyspnea Bilat. [journalotohns.biomedcentral.com]

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

No treatment effects were observed on health-related quality of life or dyspnea. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Also, improvements in some measures of dyspnea and health-related quality of life were observed. Objectives : To demonstrate that bosentan delays IPF worsening or death. [doi.org]

Effects of bosentan on health-related quality of life, dyspnea, and the safety and tolerability of bosentan were investigated. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Pleural Effusion

Dyspnea, or shortness of breath, is common with emergency department patients. [appliedradiology.com]

However, she began to experience dyspnea on exertion leading to admission. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

A patient with a small to moderate pleural effusion (under 300 ml) may have minimal or no dyspnea. A large pleural effusion causes shortness of breath. [journals.lww.com]

Pulmonary Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Dyspnea is the hallmark symptom of pulmonary fibrosis. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Dyspnea on exertion (DOE) is a major symptom of CPFE. We report a patient with DOE due to CPFE who was successfully treated with acupuncture. Case report. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Lung cancer is usually presented with cough, dyspnea, pain and weight loss, which is overlapping with symptoms of other lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Secondary Pulmonary Fibrosis

The main symptoms are exertional dyspnea and a dry cough. Bibasilar inspiratory crackles or rales are usually heard on auscultation. [amboss.com]

[…] on limitations caused by dyspnea or fear of dyspnea, for a total score ranging from 0 to 120, with a higher score indicating more severe dyspnea. [nejm.org]

[…] healing with fibroblastic /myofibroblastic proliferation - deposition of collagen and extracellular matrix - widespread fibrosis with loss of function - variable onset of dyspnea [quizlet.com]

Respiratory Bronchiolitis Interstitial Lung Disease

A: The primary symptoms of bronchiolitis are cough and dyspnea. [resident360.nejm.org]

The onset is usually insidious with exertional dyspnea and persistent cough, which may be non-productive, developing over a course of weeks or months. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Children with ILD usually present with failure to thrive, dry cough, dyspnea, and tachypnea and rales. [pediatrics.aappublications.org]

Pulmonary Infarction

A 6-year-old boy was admitted with anasarca due to relapse of nephrotic syndrome, non-productive cough, and dyspnea on exertion. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[…] may lead to catastrophic, massive pulmonary embolism and death, or to recurrent embolism with pulmonary hypertension and chronic cor pulmonale, resulting in incapacitating dyspnea [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Pleuritic chest pain, either isolated or in combination with abrupt dyspnea, is the most frequent presenting symptom, whereas hemoptysis is much rarer. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Acute Bronchitis

Differential Diagnosis of Acute Bronchitis The acute bronchitis must be differentiated from other diseases that may cause cough, dyspnea and wheezing. [1] Disease Findings [wikidoc.org]

However, patients who complain of dyspnea should have pulse oximetry to rule out hypoxemia. [merckmanuals.com]

Pneumonia should be suspected in patients with tachypnea, tachycardia, dyspnea, or lung findings suggestive of pneumonia, and radiography is warranted. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Desquamative Interstitial Pneumonia

A 45-year-old male smoker heavily used a waterproofing spray gas, and presented with chills and fever that was followed by progressive dyspnea. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Two patients with diffuse interstitial lung disease after long-term nitrofurantoin therapy were characterized clinically by exertional dyspnea and basilar rales, roentgenographically [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

He visited our hospital two years later because of severe dyspnea. He was diagnosed with desquamative interstitial pneumonia by surgical lung biopsy. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Kounis Syndrome

He developed constricting chest discomfort associated with dyspnea, sweating and hypotension. [revportcardiol.org]

Two hours later, he developed chest pain, dyspnea and diaphoresis. Repeat ECG revealed ST elevation in leads II, III, and aVF with reciprocal changes. [onlinejacc.org]

Kounis syndrome Hypersensitivity myocarditis Cardiac symptoms Acute chest pain + - Chest discomfort + + Dyspnea + + Palpitations + + Sudden death + + Cardiac signs Elevated [medscape.com]

Eisenmenger Syndrome

[…] elevated in ES patients and fell significantly with sildenafil therapy that was associated with improved exercise tolerance, implying thereby a role of J receptors in producing dyspnea [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Heart rate recovery at the first minute (HRR 1 ) and perceived effort Borg scale for dyspnea and lower limb fatigue were recorded in both tests scenarios. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Dyspnea, back pain, edema, and cyanosis developed suddenly in a 23-year-old woman during the last trimester of her first pregnancy. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis

Dyspnea was significantly improved. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

The common symptom is shortness of breath (dyspnea) A multifocal neoplasm with perivascular epithelioid cell differentiation affecting almost exclusively females of child-bearing [icd9data.com]

Scaling suggested ATAQ-LAM should have a four-domain structure (Exertional dyspnea, IC = 0.94; Cough, IC = 0.91; Fatigue, IC = 0.91; Emotional Well-Being, IC = 0.89). [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Pneumothorax

In view of the patient's history of pneumothorax, we concluded that his dyspnea was attributable mainly to the trapping of his lung by the earlier pneumothorax. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

CASE REPORT: A 75-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man presented with dyspnea, and facial swelling and abdominal pain, respectively. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Patients with pneumothorax present with sudden-onset dyspnea, ipsilateral chest pain, diminished breath sounds, and hyperresonant percussion on the affected side. [amboss.com]

Extrapulmonary Alveolar Hypoventilation

dyspnea. [aafp.org]

License: CC BY 2.0 Definition of Dyspnea Dyspnea — The Shortness of Breath Dyspnea is defined as the subjective sensation of chest tightness or shortness of the breath. [lecturio.com]

Central endobronchial tumors cause cough, hemoptysis, wheezing, stridor, dyspnea, and pneumonitis. [fundacionmapfre.org]

Foreign Body Aspiration

The degree of dyspnea should be evaluated immediately, and patients in different dyspnea should be treated accordingly. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

FBA typically manifests with sudden onset of coughing and choking, followed by stridor and dyspnea. [amboss.com]

The patient immediately had the sensation of inhalation of a foreign body and increased dyspnea, so he went to the emergency department. [archbronconeumol.org]