Chest Pain—Breathing Problems

When you’re short of breath, it’s hard or uncomfortable for you to take in the oxygen your body needs. You may feel as if you’re not getting enough air. Sometimes you can have mild breathing problems because of a stuffy nose or intense exercise. But shortness of breath can also be a sign of a serious disease.

Many conditions can make you feel short of breath:

• Lung conditions such as asthma, emphysema, or pneumonia
• Problems with your trachea or bronchi, which are part of your airway system
• Heart disease can make you feel breathless if your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply oxygen to your body
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Allergies

If you often have trouble breathing, it is important to find out the cause.

• Blood gases (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breath sounds (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breathing difficulty (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breathing difficulty – lying down (Medical Encyclopedia)
• How to breathe when you are short of breath (Medical Encyclopedia)
• How to Properly Put On, Take Off a Disposable Respirator (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – PDF
• Pulmonary function tests (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Rapid shallow breathing (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Wheezing (Medical Encyclopedia)

Having a pain in your chest can be scary. It does not always mean that you are having a heart attack. There can be many other causes, including

• Other heart problems, such as angina
• Panic attacks
• Digestive problems, such as heartburn or esophagus disorders
• Sore muscles
• Lung diseases, such as pneumonia, pleurisy, or pulmonary embolism
• Costochondritis – an inflammation of joints in your chest

Some of these problems can be serious. Get immediate medical care if you have chest pain that does not go away, crushing pain or pressure in the chest, or chest pain along with nausea, sweating, dizziness or shortness of breath. Treatment depends on the cause of the pain.

• Chest pain (Medical Encyclopedia)