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What Causes Difficulty In Breathing And Fatigue When In Hot Temperatures?

Posted on Thu, 2 Jul 2015

Question: I have difficulty when I find myself outside in hot weather/temperatures. I immediately find it difficult to breathe and become very weak/fatigued if walking like I can't catch enough breath to keep going. It's not so much dizzy as extremely and instant weakness and difficulty with breathing. I cannot take a full deep breath of air. My BP is 104/62 generally. Is this a heart problem or something completely different? I have included recent blood work.

Answered by Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (37 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Autonomic dysfunction

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Thanks for the query

The autonomous system takes care of temperature control along with the hypothalamus. Dysfuction can lead to symptoms like these. However to know more I need a few more details

1. Do you sweat less?
2. do you feel giddy after getting up from sleeping position ?
3. what is your heart rate ? it can checked by counting the pulse and checking for a minute
4. what was the outside temperature when you felt these and how long were you outside ?

please get back to me, I am awaiting your reply

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (9 hours later)

Thank you very much for your answer. In answer to your questions....
1. I do not sweat much at all
2. There are times where I feel giddy yes...
3. I have not checked my heart rate but there are times I awake from sleep feeling giddy and my heart certainly is beating much faster
4. Temperature outside was approx 29 to 30'degrees Celsius but likely feeling more like 35

Thank you again. Is there anything that can be done about this? I do not when I exercise I cannot for long as I get the same feeling. I was told that I don't have enough oxygen coming in after a Vo2 XXXXXXX test?

Answered by Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (11 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Autonomic dysfunction

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Thanks for getting back with all the details. I am sorry for the short delay in my reply, I was on call at my hospital.

From the details you have given it looks like there could be an autonomic dysfunction.
Here is what you should do

1. You feel breathless and uneasy at temperatures of even 30 because your body is not secreting enough sweat.
2. I suggest you to go for a 'tilt table test'. It is usually done by a cardiologist.
3. Keep yourself in air conditioning and avoid extreme temperatures, also be careful in the shower
4. Increasing salt intake is adivsed by some practitioners however I have not seen very good results
5. Drink plenty of water, about 3-5 glasses of water per day

I hope I was of help, if you have any further queries please get back to me

Regards

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D