Scary reasons you are gasping for breath

Heart failure

Heart failure doesn’t mean your heart has “failed.” It means your heart is not as strong at pumping blood as it should be. This makes it harder to get oxygen where it needs to go. That can make you short of breath.

Therefore, simple things such as climbing the stairs, long walks, or carrying groceries, tire you out. Talk with your doctor to help you manage your symptoms.

COVID-19

This serious respiratory disease is caused by a type of virus called a coronavirus. The virus first attacks cells in your airways, but it can spread quickly to your lungs. Along with shortness of breath, the most common warning signs are fever and a dry cough.

With mild symptoms, you can get better at home. However, go to your doctor immediately if you have real trouble breathing.

Anemia

Insufficient healthy red blood cells mean insufficient oxygen where needed. This can make you weak and tired, and sometimes short of breath. It can also make you dizzy and pale, with cold hands and feet, and a fast heartbeat.

There are many causes, hence your treatment will be determined by what’s causing yours. Talk to your doctor if you’re tired and don’t know why.

Collapsed lungs

Collapsed lungs happen when an injury or disease causes air to leak from your lungs to the space between your lungs and the wall of your chest. The air pushes on the lung, making it fold in on itself.

Symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath. Your doctor may put a needle or small tube into the area to remove the air, or you may need surgery. But if it’s minor, it might get better on its own.

Asthma and allergies

Your airways suddenly narrow and swell. You may struggle for air, cough up mucus, or hear whistling when you breathe. Several things can trigger the attack, such as allergic reactions from pollen, dust, pets, smoke, exercise, freezing air, a cold, and stress.

Besides, your asthma could start with something you touched or food you ate, and not always things in the air. Talk with your doctor about how to manage your asthma and allergies. Also, make certain you see the doctor when your symptoms change.

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas emitted from furnaces, fireplaces, water heaters, dryers, and car fumes into the air. Since you can breathe too much of it, this makes it hard for your red blood cells to send oxygen through your body. Consequently, you may be short of breath, dizzy, confused, weak, and nauseated. Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the scary reasons you are gasping for breath because it’s life-threatening. Your vision could blur, and you could pass out.

Pneumonia

A virus, bacteria, or fungus infects the air sacs inside your lungs. Then those sacs fill with fluid. This makes it harder to breathe. Also, you could have chills and a fever. Or you might cough up thick, colored mucus.

So, check in often with your doctor, who might prescribe antibiotics if bacteria cause pneumonia. Though other types are harder to treat, rest, fluids, and over-the-counter meds can make you feel better.

Sleep apnea

It’s a condition when breathing stops repeatedly during sleep, so a person may not realize anything is happening. But you might be tired, groggy, and moody the next day. It could lead to high blood pressure and make you more likely to have heart disease and a stroke. Since extra weight is a risk, it may help if you lose weight.

Pulmonary embolism

A blockage, or clot, often in your leg, breaks loose, and a piece goes to your lung and blocks blood flow. That can make it hard or painful to breathe. You could feel faint, and your heart might race. Some people cough up blood. You may have swelling, warmth, and soreness where the clot started.

If you get these symptoms, go to the hospital as it can be life-threatening. Your doctor may use blood thinners, other drugs, or surgery.

Chronic bronchitis

This is COPD or emphysema. The main cause is smoking, which stretches out the air sacs in your lungs, making it hard for the lungs to move air. This makes it tougher to breathe. You might feel tightness in your chest and cough, sometimes with wheezing, that doesn’t go away.

This is a serious condition that can be managed with the help of your doctor. So if you smoke, your best solution is to stop.

Myasthenia gravis

A “neuromuscular” disease that makes it harder for muscles and nerves to work together. Hence, you might notice weakness when you move your arms and legs. Also, it can affect automatic movements like breathing. The ailment could change how you chew, swallow, blink, and smile. Besides, overworking yourself makes it worse, but better when you relax. Your doctor can help you manage the symptoms, though there is a chance of going into remission.

A broken heart syndrome

This is real. What happens is that the loss of a loved one or an ended romance elicits a sudden, intense emotion. This affects the heart, causing sharp chest pain and making breathing hard. Therefore, the heart doesn’t pump as well for a while. But unlike a heart attack, broken heart syndrome is not caused by blocked arteries. Though it can lead to short-term heart muscle failure, most people get better within a few days or weeks.

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