What Causes Difficulty In Breathing While Climbing Stairs Or Walking?

Posted on Thu, 8 Jun 2023

Question: Walking up stairs or short walks makes it hard to breath

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (16 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
I would recommend performing some tests:

Detailed Answer:

Hello,

I would explain that it is important performing a comprehensive differential diagnosis between different possible causes that may lead to this clinical situation: chronic anemia, a lung disorder, heart failure, low physical performance, lack of physical activity, obesity, etc.

Coming to this point, I would recommend consulting with your attending physician for a physical exam and some tests to investigate for the possible underlying causes:

- a chest X-ray study and pulmonary function tests
- cardiac ultrasound and a resting ECG
- NT pro BNP levels for heart failure
- complete blood count for anemia
- blood electrolytes for electrolyte imbalance
- thyroid hormone levels for thyroid gland dysfunction
- HbA1C levels for diabetes
- kidney and liver function tests

You should discuss with your doctor on the above issues.

Hope to have been helpful!

Regards,
Dr. Ilir Sharka, Cardiologist

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

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