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When to see a doctor
By Mayo Clinic staff
Seek emergency medical care
Call 911 or have someone drive you to the emergency room if you experience severe shortness of breath that comes on suddenly and affects your ability to function. Seek emergency medical care if your shortness of breath is accompanied by chest pain, fainting or nausea — as these may be signs of a heart attack or pulmonary embolism.
Make a doctor's appointment
Make an appointment with your doctor if your shortness of breath is accompanied by:
- Swelling in your feet and ankles
- Trouble breathing when you lie flat.
- High fever, chills and cough
- Wheezing
- Worsening of pre-existing shortness of breath
Self-care
To help keep chronic shortness of breath from getting worse:
- Stop smoking. The benefits of quitting smoking are extraordinary. Once you're tobacco-free, your risks of heart disease, lung disease and cancer begin to drop — even if you've been smoking for years.
- Avoid exposure to pollutants. As much as possible, avoid breathing allergens and environmental toxins.
- Have an action plan. Discuss with your healthcare provider what to do if your symptoms become worse.
- 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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