Brief Answer:
Cardiology or Pulmonary physicians

Detailed Answer:
Dear patient,

Thanks for your health concerns. The symptoms of long-standing shortness of breath usually represent the presence of a chronic cardiopulmonary process, which indeed includes a humongous list of conditions such as deconditioning, heart failure, valve disorders, COPD, interstitial lung disease, asthma, etc. The best way to start would be to ask for a referral to either a cardiologist or a pulmonologist, who would conduct a through physical examination and decide about the next battery of tests needed for diagnosis depending on suspicion, which may include a chest x-ray, pulmonary function tests, echocardiogram, etc.
Treatment depends on finding the specific cause.

Yours truly,


Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Cardiology
Mayo Clinic MN

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