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What Causes Shortness Of Breath?
Question: I am 96 years old--reasonably healthy-walking-driving-stay active.
6 feet tall--184 pounds---For two days I have been "panting' just like
I finished a race. there are times when it stops and then it comes back.
I know I have some anxiety---by mistake I took two tylenol 650 mg before
bedtime last night and two more this morning. Could that be the cause?
6 feet tall--184 pounds---For two days I have been "panting' just like
I finished a race. there are times when it stops and then it comes back.
I know I have some anxiety---by mistake I took two tylenol 650 mg before
bedtime last night and two more this morning. Could that be the cause?
Brief Answer:
anxiety, arrhythmia, ... ?
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
there are some potential causes for this kind of attacks that come and go and last for a short time.
The most benign cause is anxiety, as you've already pointed out. Anxiety is a diagnosis of exclusion. All organic causes will have to be excluded first before anxiety can be considered for any kind of symptom.
An arrhythmia is a major suspicion. Atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias may cause heart decompensation particularly to old individuals and have a paroxysmal nature (come and go). An electrocardiogram during the attack can prove an arrhythmia. Sometimes (since the arrhythmia may not be present during the electrocardiogram) a Holter monitoring has to be done which records electrocardiograms thoughout a 24 hour period, so if the patient experiences symptoms the arrhythmia can be confirmed or excluded.
So if I were your doctor I would have focused on documenting an arrhythmia first. If the arrhythmia scenario was excluded then anxiety would have to be considered.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
anxiety, arrhythmia, ... ?
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
there are some potential causes for this kind of attacks that come and go and last for a short time.
The most benign cause is anxiety, as you've already pointed out. Anxiety is a diagnosis of exclusion. All organic causes will have to be excluded first before anxiety can be considered for any kind of symptom.
An arrhythmia is a major suspicion. Atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias may cause heart decompensation particularly to old individuals and have a paroxysmal nature (come and go). An electrocardiogram during the attack can prove an arrhythmia. Sometimes (since the arrhythmia may not be present during the electrocardiogram) a Holter monitoring has to be done which records electrocardiograms thoughout a 24 hour period, so if the patient experiences symptoms the arrhythmia can be confirmed or excluded.
So if I were your doctor I would have focused on documenting an arrhythmia first. If the arrhythmia scenario was excluded then anxiety would have to be considered.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
You can contact me again, if you'd like any clarification or further information.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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