Orthopnea causes. Why does shortness of breath appear when walking - causes, treatment

The body is not a perfect machine. Sometimes a person may not feel too well for various reasons. In this article I would like to talk about why shortness of breath may occur when walking and how you can cope with this symptom.

Terminology

At the very beginning, you need to understand what shortness of breath is. So, first of all, it should be noted that this is a symptom that can accompany many diseases. However, to better understand the nature of shortness of breath, you need to consider its main signs:

A person's breathing becomes more frequent.
There is a feeling of suffocation, i.e. the person feels short of air.
The depth of inhalation and exhalation changes. Breathing becomes noisier.

It is also worth saying that shortness of breath is always noticeable to people around you.

Reason 1. Cardiovascular system

The first and most important reason why shortness of breath occurs when walking is problems at work. cardiovascular systems s. So, this symptom can occur with heart failure and cardiosclerosis. It appears most often during physical activity and movement. If the problem is not dealt with, it can develop into a more serious form - shortness of breath when lying on your back. Getting rid of this disease will be much more difficult. If shortness of breath when walking is accompanied by other symptoms, this may indicate the following problems:

Myocardial infarction. In this case, difficulty breathing is accompanied by pain in the chest area.
Chest pain and shortness of breath may also indicate a ruptured aneurysm. thoracic aorta and coronary heart disease.

Reason 2. Respiratory system

If a person suffers from severe shortness of breath when walking, the reasons in this case may be hidden in the disruption of work respiratory system body. This symptom may accompany the following diseases:

Pneumonia. In this case, shortness of breath develops when walking along with chest pain. The person also experiences weakness. There may not be a temperature.
Pleurisy. In this case, shortness of breath is accompanied by a feeling of heaviness in the chest.
Bronchitis. With this disease, a person also quite often experiences shortness of breath. It is very important to cure this disease in time, as it can develop into bronchial asthma.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The disease occurs in smokers, as well as in those people who work in industries that are harmful to the respiratory system.

If shortness of breath turns into suffocation, this is already alarming symptom. In this case, situations may arise when the functioning of the respiratory system will be significantly hampered.

Reason 3. Nervous system

Shortness of breath when walking can occur in people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, as well as in those who are frequently exposed to stressful situations. After all, certain brain structures that belong to the central nervous system are responsible for the regulation of breathing.

Reason 4. Anemia

Often severe shortness of breath when walking occurs due to anemia. In this case, the blood cannot transport oxygen through the tissues, which is why a similar condition occurs. Shortness of breath during movement may also indicate that the patient is developing tumor processes in the mediastinum.

Other reasons

We continue to consider the topic “shortness of breath when walking: causes, treatment.” So, a similar symptom can also occur in the following situations:

Colds. At this time, a person has a stuffy nose, which also significantly complicates the breathing process. It’s easy to cope with the problem; you just need to buy a cold remedy at the pharmacy.
Allergic reactions. In this case, shortness of breath may also occur when walking. This condition can be caused by swelling of the larynx or vocal cords.

When should you see a doctor?

Only a doctor can tell you more fully and competently about how to treat shortness of breath when walking. After all, in case of self-medication, you can trigger the disease without identifying the main cause of the symptom. In what situations should you immediately seek medical help?

When there is a lack of air, and it is no longer possible to compensate for it with rapid breathing.
When, along with shortness of breath, pain occurs in the area chest.
Symptoms such as swelling of the lower legs and feet should alert you.
If the patient has not previously been diagnosed with asthma or another serious respiratory disease, and shortness of breath does not go away.
You should also visit a doctor if, along with shortness of breath, a person experiences hoarse breathing and a cough with phlegm.

Treatment

If a person periodically experiences shortness of breath when walking, treatment is something that needs to be paid special attention to. After all, this symptom may indicate a rather serious disease. So, first of all, the cause of this condition should be identified. After all, the type of treatment and its effectiveness will depend on this. What are the main ways to combat this disease?

If shortness of breath is caused by problems with the respiratory system, you can cope with the symptom using breathing exercises. Also in this case, oxygen therapy helps well, and, if necessary, antibacterial drugs. If a patient has asthma, he should always have a special inhaler on hand that will help bring his breathing back to normal.
If shortness of breath occurs due to a malfunction of the cardiovascular system, then treatment should be carried out strictly under the supervision of doctors. Taking any independent measures in this situation is extremely dangerous.
If shortness of breath is caused by an allergic reaction, then you can simply take one of the following drugs: L-cet, Tavegil, Suprastin. Allergic swelling will disappear, after which the symptom will disappear.
If anemia causes shortness of breath when walking, then the doctor will most likely prescribe drugs such as Ferroplex or Hemofer to the patient.

Traditional medicine

If a person is suffering from shortness of breath when walking, treatment can also be carried out using means traditional medicine. In this case, the following recipes will be relevant:

Infusion. Pour a glass of boiling water over one teaspoon of hawthorn flowers. Next, the ingredients must be simmered for 15 minutes in a water bath and left for 45 minutes in a dark place. The medicine is taken three times a day, one-third of a glass.
Decoction. 0.5 liters of boiling water should be poured into 100 grams of crushed hawthorn fruits. The medicine is simmered over low heat for half an hour, then cooled and filtered. You need to take the product three times a day, 100 ml after meals.
Oatmeal. It perfectly helps relieve shortness of breath that occurs while moving. To prepare a medicinal dish, you will need to pour 0.5 cups of oat grains with two liters of milk. Everything is placed in a preheated oven and simmered at low temperature for about an hour and a half. You need to eat one glass of porridge an hour before bedtime. The course of treatment with this method is two weeks.

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Many patients complain of shortness of breath when visiting a therapist. Difficulty breathing does not mean that a person has lung problems. You can suspect a particular disease by the nature of shortness of breath and symptoms of accompanying conditions.

However, only a doctor can identify the true cause based on research data.

Shortness of breath - what is it?

Dyspnea is a deviation from the normal parameters of the depth and frequency of breathing. Normally, a person makes 14-16 respiratory movements per minute.

During the period of bearing a child, the respiratory rate in women increases to 22-24 per minute, however, this increase is considered normal and is due to physiological changes in the body of the pregnant woman.

In children from the newborn period to 10-14 years, the frequency of respiratory movements gradually decreases from 60 to 20 per minute.

Exceeding the normal respiratory rate in min. indicates the occurrence of shortness of breath. Subjectively (the patient’s sensations) shortness of breath is manifested by a feeling of lack of air, increased or decreased breathing.

Shortness of breath can be a temporary phenomenon, occur during physical activity or spontaneously at rest. At serious illnesses breathing difficulties are often recorded constantly.

Shortness of breath, medically called dyspnea, is a reflex reaction to a lack of oxygen in the tissues. Moreover, oxygen deficiency can be caused by external factors: a sharp increase in physical activity when running, climbing stairs, etc.

This physiological shortness of breath goes away on its own after some time. Its occurrence is due to the physical training of a person. People leading a passive lifestyle feel tightness in the chest even with minimal physical stress.

And, conversely, athletes and people leading an active lifestyle require quite serious exercise stress for shortness of breath.

A more serious option is shortness of breath resulting from pathology of internal organs. In this case, it is impossible to eliminate breathing problems without medical help.

The patient's complaints can only indirectly indicate the affected organ. Only a full examination of the body will allow us to identify the cause of shortness of breath and prescribe appropriate treatment.

There are shortness of breath:

Tachypnea - the respiratory rate is increased to more than 20 per minute, and breathing becomes shallow. Tachypnea is characteristic of feverish conditions, obesity, anemia, and hysterical seizures.
Bradypnea - decrease in respiratory rate to 12 per minute. and less. Breathing can be both deep and shallow. Bradyapnea is recorded in cerebral pathology, a state of acidosis and diabetic coma.

Based on the nature of breathing problems, doctors consider:

Expiratory shortness of breath - with difficulty exhaling, most often caused by damage to the small bronchi and the lung tissue itself. Shortness of breath after coughing, debilitating the patient, is recorded when chronic diseases lungs (emphysema).
Inspiratory dyspnea - with difficulty inhaling, occurs when large bronchi are damaged or lung tissue is compressed. More typical for bronchial asthma, pleurisy, allergic edema and laryngeal cancer.
Mixed shortness of breath - both inhalation and exhalation are difficult. This type of respiratory disorder often indicates cardiac asthma or advanced pulmonary pathology.

Degrees of dyspnea

Depending on the physical activity required for the occurrence of breathing problems, shortness of breath is distinguished:

Grade 0 - for chest tightness to appear, quite serious physical stress is required (long distance running).
1st degree (mild) - shortness of breath occurs at times when climbing stairs or walking quickly.
2nd degree (moderate) - difficulty breathing provokes a slower step in a sick person in comparison with the pace of his movement, being in a healthy state. A person sometimes stops while walking to take a breath.
Grade 3 (severe) - the patient needs to stop every 100 m (approximate distance) or when climbing 1-2 flights of stairs. The patient's performance is sharply reduced.
Grade 4 (extremely severe) - even minimal physical activity or an emotional outburst can provoke shortness of breath in heart failure. Difficulty breathing often occurs at rest, even while sleeping at night. The patient is practically unable to do any work and spends most of his time at home.

Along with the above characteristics, the accompanying symptoms of shortness of breath play an important role.

Chest pain, cough, shortness of breath - is this a disease?

Constantly or frequently occurring (even at rest) shortness of breath is a serious symptom, indicating the progression of an already existing disease or the occurrence of a severe, rapidly developing pathology. Shortness of breath at rest is characteristic of the following diseases:

Severe angina and other heart diseases - chest pain, cough, shortness of breath at rest. Timely provision of qualified assistance to a patient can save his life and prevent the development of necrosis of the heart muscle.

Thrombembolism of the pulmonary arteries- often occurs in the background varicose veins or thrombophlebitis, occurring with increased blood clotting. Blockage of the pulmonary vessels is accompanied by severe bronchospasm. Often this condition occurs in postoperative period, in paralyzed bedridden patients and even during air travel.

To save the patient's life, immediate health care! Usually, it only takes a few minutes after the onset of severe symptoms to provide assistance for blockage of a large pulmonary vessel, otherwise death is inevitable.

The most common causes of shortness of breath when walking are:

Pathology of coronary circulation - stenosis of large heart vessels, atherosclerosis;
Heart defects - valve defects, aneurysm of the heart wall;
Severe lung damage - often constant shortness of breath accompanies pulmonary diseases;
Anemia - a significant decrease in hemoglobin levels is characterized by shortness of breath on exertion and sudden attacks of weakness, dizziness and decreased a/d up to loss of consciousness.

Cardiac shortness of breath (cardiac asthma), symptoms

Shortness of breath caused by heart disease progresses gradually or rapidly without treatment. The rate of increase in shortness of breath indicates the severity of cardiac pathology. The result is coronary circulatory failure and tissue hypoxia.

Severe shortness of breath when walking or at rest is accompanied by cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle, pallor of the skin, and heart pain.

Breathing problems that occur spontaneously during night sleep suggest heart failure. A characteristic symptom of cardiac asthma - ortapnea - is manifested by increased shortness of breath in the supine position. A person is forced to take a vertical position to facilitate breathing.

In chronic heart failure, shortness of breath is accompanied by deep breaths due to reflex replenishment of severe oxygen deficiency. The most unfavorable option - shortness of breath at rest - requires complex treatment of heart failure.

Shortness of breath and cough with sputum are a “companion” of heavy smokers and an indicator of chronic pulmonary obstruction. Long-term smoking leads to atrophic changes in the bronchi, blockage of the smallest bronchioles with sputum.

Shortness of breath may be minimal at rest, but sharply increases when walking.

With bronchitis and pneumonia, shortness of breath and a wet cough are recorded (with the exception of the initial period of pneumonia - a dry cough). Dry cough and shortness of breath are characteristic of damage to the pleura, fibrosis, and the initial stage of pulmonary oncology. The larger the area of damage to the respiratory system, the more severe the shortness of breath.

Noisy breathing, moist rales audible at a distance (“gurgling” in the lungs), and persistent shortness of breath may indicate severe lung damage: cancer or edema caused by acute coronary insufficiency.

Treatment - what to do if you have shortness of breath?

If the disease causing shortness of breath is identified, it must be treated in accordance with all recommendations of the attending physician. The following will also help ease your breathing:

Complete cessation of cigarettes, exclusion of passive smoking.
Ventilation of premises and regular cleaning (elimination of dust).
Exclusion from the diet of allergenic foods that contribute to the occurrence of bronchial asthma and asthmatic bronchitis.
Good nutrition - prevention of anemia.
Breathing exercises - take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth, accompanied by drawing in the abdomen.
If the cause of difficulty breathing has not been established, it is necessary to undergo a comprehensive examination. If shortness of breath rapidly develops, an urgent call is required emergency care, and if breathing stops, use artificial respiration until doctors arrive.
Shortness of breath in bronchial asthma is eliminated by drugs that eliminate bronchospasm - Salbutamol, Fenoterol, Saltos, Eufillin.
The fastest results are achieved by using aerosols or injections medicine. IM or IV injections are performed by a doctor!

Treatment of shortness of breath begins with identifying the cause of its occurrence. Breathing problems can only be eliminated with effective treatment of the underlying disease.

Which doctor should I contact for shortness of breath?

Since shortness of breath can be caused various diseases, initially a person should see a therapist. Subsequently, the patient can be referred for consultation to specialized specialists: a cardiologist, pulmonologist, endocrinologist, neurologist.

Almost every person is familiar with that feeling when, when running or walking up to a high floor, it seems as if there is not enough breath. However, there are situations when even when walking or even at rest, shortness of breath and lack of air occur. The reasons why it becomes difficult to breathe even with a small load can be very serious.

Dyspnea

Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, is a disturbance in the frequency of breathing, which is usually accompanied by a feeling of acute lack of air. This condition is characterized by the following symptoms:

rapid and noisy breathing;
suffocation;
change in the depth of exhalation and inhalation.

Such symptoms can pose a great danger to health, because they often accompany many serious diseases.

Types of shortness of breath

Experts distinguish three main types of shortness of breath:

inspiratory - impaired inhalation, difficulty passing air through the upper respiratory tract;
expiratory - impaired exhalation due to narrowing or blockage of the lower parts of the pulmonary system;
mixed - problems with inhalation and exhalation due to a decrease in the respiratory surface of the lungs.

Based on the diagnosis of patients, it is customary to distinguish between 5 possible degrees of dyspnea:

0 - only during strong physical exertion;
1 - when walking fast or climbing up;
2 - with normal movement and minor loads;
3 - even with calm walking, a person needs rest every 2-3 minutes;
4 - shortness of breath and lack of air appear in a state of complete rest.

In some cases, a person experiencing difficulty breathing needs prompt hospitalization, a full examination and appropriate therapy.

Possible reasons

The feeling that it is hard to breathe, not enough air, noisy breathing without any stress should be a reason to immediately consult a doctor. Science knows quite a few different pathological conditions, which may cause dyspnea. Depending on the reasons that caused shortness of breath, all of them can be roughly divided into three main groups:

diseases of the bronchi and lungs;
cardiovascular pathologies;
anemia.

Shortness of breath due to pulmonary diseases

Acute lack of air is often caused by various pulmonary and bronchial pathologies. The “mechanics” of oxygen supply can be complicated by diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, tuberculosis, emphysema, and even spinal curvature.

The appearance of shortness of breath in people suffering from such ailments usually develops along with severe weakness, a hacking cough, and sometimes the release of bloody sputum.

Principles of treatment of dyspnea in pulmonary diseases:

therapy of the underlying disease;
maintaining patency of the respiratory tract;
reducing the load on the bronchi and lungs.

Mandatory medications should include antibiotics, expectorants, and agents that increase the concentration of oxygen in the blood. As additional therapy, chest massage, oxygen-helium inhalations and artificial ventilation are used.

Shortness of breath in cardiovascular pathologies

Dyspnea is one of the main complaints that occurs in those suffering from heart or vascular diseases. In people with such ailments, it is usually accompanied by severe fatigue, swelling of the limbs, bluish areas of the body and irregular pulse.

Often, attacks of suffocation can occur even at night (a similar condition is also known as “cardiac asthma”). But most often the patient suffers from shortness of breath and palpitations. The reasons in this case can be very different: a jump blood pressure, myocardial infarction, tachycardia, thromboembolism pulmonary artery etc.

Treatment of dyspnea arising from cardiovascular diseases should be carried out in the following areas:

decrease in venous pressure levels;
stimulation of heart contractions;
an increase in the amount of blood released during contraction.

The main groups of drugs used are opioids, vasodilators, nitrates, cardiac glycosides, catecholamines, Furosemide and antifoams. In some cases, the patient may require oxygen therapy and even artificial ventilation.

Shortness of breath with anemia

The development of anemia is observed after infectious diseases, frequent bleeding, with cancer, and even in vegetarians. As a result of changes in blood composition, hemoglobin levels and the number of red blood cells drop significantly, which, in turn, affects the transport of oxygen to the lungs.

With anemia, a person feels severe weakness, dizziness, loss of strength, headaches, loss of appetite and sleep, and symptoms such as shortness of breath and lack of air appear. Treatment in in this case can be prescribed only based on the results of a general blood test. The main principles of therapy are the elimination of the underlying disease and restoration of the level of hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood.

Shortness of breath in other diseases

Breathing complications can also be caused by such unpleasant ailments as:

metabolic disorders and obesity;
thyrotoxicosis;
diabetes;
neurotic disorders.

In each of these cases, the patient needs complex treatment and constant monitoring by a specialized specialist. Only after elimination main reason it becomes possible to get rid of unpleasant attacks.

Traditional methods of treating shortness of breath

Add the juice of 10 lemons and 10 heads of garlic, passed through a press, to 1 kg of honey. Mix until smooth, place in glass jar and leave in a cool place for 24 days. Take 1 tsp. before bedtime for 2 months;
Mix 0.5 kg of onion, grated, with 0.5 tbsp. sugar, 100 ml beetroot and 300 ml carrot juice. Cook covered for 3 hours. Take 1 tbsp. l. 3 times a day before meals;
1 tbsp. l. Brew 2 tbsp strawberry leaves. boiling water, leave for an hour. Drink in equal parts throughout the day.

In the early stages of damage to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, shortness of breath occurs during physical activity (for example, climbing stairs); as the disease progresses, shortness of breath appears with minor exertion (for example, walking on level ground, tying shoelaces) and at rest.
Subjectively, shortness of breath is perceived by patients in different ways:

difficulty breathing (inhaling or exhaling);
chest tightness;
chest congestion;
feeling of tightness in the chest;
lack of air;
impossibility take a deep breath and/or full exhalation;
suffocation.

Forms

Inspiratory- difficulty breathing. Associated with difficulty in the flow of air into the respiratory tract. For example, with swelling of the vocal cords, if foreign bodies in the bronchi, with tumors compressing the airways.
Expiratory– difficulty in exhaling. Associated with difficulty in the movement of air from the lungs during exhalation through narrowed, spasmodic, swollen bronchi. It is characteristic of diseases in which there is a chronic inflammatory process in the bronchi, and pathologies associated with the destruction of the partitions between the alveoli (respiratory vesicles, which are the final part of the respiratory tract in which gas exchange occurs), retention of excess air in the lungs and difficulty in its exit ( bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema).
Mixed- difficulty inhaling and exhaling. It is observed in pneumonia, as well as chronic respiratory and chronic heart failure, which develops in the later stages of respiratory and circulatory diseases.
A special variant of shortness of breath is distinguished - suffocation, which represents an extreme degree of violation of all breathing parameters (frequency, rhythm, depth). Most typical for an attack of bronchial asthma.

Causes

Diagnostics

To diagnose the underlying disease that caused shortness of breath, it is necessary to undergo a number of the following examination methods:

general examination (general medical examination, counting the frequency of respiratory movements of the chest, listening to the lungs using a phonendoscope);
general analysis blood;
chest x-ray;
computed tomography of the chest;
spirometry (spirography). Allows you to evaluate air permeability respiratory tract and the ability of the lungs to expand;
test with a bronchodilator - performing spirometry before and after inhalation of a drug that dilates the bronchus. Used to assess the reversibility of bronchial narrowing;
bronchoprovocation test - performing spirometry before and after inhalation of methacholine or histamine. Allows you to detect increased sensitivity of the bronchus, manifested in the form of bronchospasm;
study of blood gas composition (determination of oxygen and carbon dioxide tension in the blood, assessment of blood oxygen saturation);
body plethysmography is a method for assessing the function of external respiration, which allows you to determine all volumes and capacities of the lungs, including those that are not determined by spirography;
electrocardiography (ECG), echocardiography (ECHO-CG, ultrasound of the heart) – for assessment functional state heart and pressure in the pulmonary artery system;
fibrobronchoscopy is a study that allows you to examine the mucous membrane of the bronchi from the inside and examine its cellular composition using a special apparatus. The method is used in case of unclear diagnosis in order to exclude others possible diseases with similar manifestations;
angiopulmonography – study of pulmonary vessels;
lung biopsy;
consultation is also possible.

Treatment of shortness of breath

Oxygen therapy (in case of insufficient oxygen saturation of the blood).
Bronchodilators are drugs that dilate the bronchus (for narrowed, spasmodic bronchi).
Artificial ventilation - in severe cases.
Surgical treatment: removal of altered, functionally defective areas of the lungs.
Physical training and pulmonary rehabilitation - to increase exercise tolerance:
- walking at a moderate pace;
- swimming;
- breathing exercises(using various methods: inflating balloons, blowing air through a straw, diaphragmatic breathing) - aimed at training the respiratory muscles.

Preventing shortness of breath

Treatment of the underlying disease.
To give up smoking.
Maintaining normal body weight ( physical activity, balanced diet).
Avoiding contact with allergens (eg dust, six animals, bird feathers, some food products etc.), provoking bronchospasm.
Adequate physical activity (aimed at training the respiratory muscles): walking at a moderate rhythm, swimming, breathing exercises (using various methods: inflating balloons, blowing air through a straw, diaphragmatic breathing).