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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffMost cases of shortness of breath are due to heart or lung conditions. Your heart and lungs are involved in transporting oxygen to your tissues and removing carbon dioxide, and problems with either of these processes affect your breathing. A number of other health conditions, certain environmental factors — even being overweight — also can make it hard to get enough air.
Lung problems
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- COPD (often caused by smoking)
- Croup (especially in young children)
- Emphysema
- Histoplasmosis
- Hyperventilation
- Interstitial lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Pleural effusion
- Pleurisy
- Pneumonia
- Pneumothorax
- Pulmonary edema
- Pulmonary embolism
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Sarcoidosis
- Tuberculosis
Heart problems
Other problems
- Acute kidney failure
- Anaphylaxis
- Anemia
- Broken ribs
- Epiglottitis
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- Lack of exercise (deconditioning) or unusually strenuous exercise
- Obesity
- Myasthenia gravis
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Panic attacks and panic disorder
- Pregnancy
- Tonsillitis
Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom. Work with your doctor or other health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.
- Schwartzstein RM. Approach to the patient with dyspnea. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 25, 2010.
- Braithwaite S, et al. Dyspnea: Diagnostic approach. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..00017-7&uniq=207151540&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&sid=1017641192#lpState=opened&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..00017-7--s0025%3Bfrom%3Dcontent%3Bisbn%3D978-0-323-05472-0%3Btype%3DbookPage. Accessed June 25, 2010.
- Ferri FF. Dyspnea. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/207151540-5/1017641192/2088/I4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00066-6--f1020.fig?tocnode=58139733. Accessed June 25, 2010.
- Chart: Shortness of breath. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/521.html. Accessed June 25, 2010.
- Chart: Shortness of breath in a child or infant. American Academy of Family Physicians. http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/symptom/522.html. Accessed June 25, 2010.
- What are the signs and symptoms of pleurisy and other pleural disorders? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pleurisy/pleurisy_signs_symptoms.html. Accessed June 25, 2010.
- Schwartzstein RM. Patient information: Shortness of breath (dyspnea). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 25, 2010.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 6, 2010.
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