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What Would Cause Shortness Of Breath, Chest Tightness And Reducing Oxygen Level?
Question: for 3 days now I've felt short of breath anytime I'm not purposefully taking full belly deep breaths. anytime I go to subconscious breathing my blood oxygen level goes down to as low as 91% during which I feel very short of breath, my chest feels tight and I notice I'm just breathing really shallowly and my chest only rises a tiny bit and like I'm holding my breath. I went to the ER yesterday and they did a CT scan and saw no fluid in my lungs and that my heart was not enlarged. my bloodwork and ekg came back normal. when I get up and move around my heart rate goes up to 130 and my blood oxygen drops to 94%. while I'm laying down my heart rate is 80 or lower and blood oxygen level is 96% to 98%. I have to really walk slowly and limit my pace when doing anything or i get short of breath, my chest feels tight and my blood oxygen level falls. please advise...what is going on?
Brief Answer:
Get done PFT.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I can understand your concern.
First of all no need to worry for heart diseases and Pulmonary embolism (PE).
You are having breathing difficulty, fall in oxygen saturation and rise in pulse on exertion (walking).
So we should definitely rule out bronchitis in your case.
So get done PFT (Pulmonary Function Test).
PFT will not only diagnose bronchitis but it will also tell you about severity of the disease and treatment is based on severity only.
You may need inhaled bronchodilators (formoterol or salmeterol) and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) (budesonide or fluticasone).
Please let me know if you are having habit of smoking.
I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.
Get done PFT.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I can understand your concern.
First of all no need to worry for heart diseases and Pulmonary embolism (PE).
You are having breathing difficulty, fall in oxygen saturation and rise in pulse on exertion (walking).
So we should definitely rule out bronchitis in your case.
So get done PFT (Pulmonary Function Test).
PFT will not only diagnose bronchitis but it will also tell you about severity of the disease and treatment is based on severity only.
You may need inhaled bronchodilators (formoterol or salmeterol) and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) (budesonide or fluticasone).
Please let me know if you are having habit of smoking.
I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
I had the PFT and it came back normal and no bronchitis. everyone that has listened to my lungs say they sound great. what could be going on?
Brief Answer:
If not tried, you should definitely try inhaled treatment.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I can understand your concern.
It is good that your PFT values are normal.
But in my opinion, you should definitely try inhaled treatment despite of normal PFT report.
Inhaled treatment in the form of long acting beta 2 agonist (LABA) (formoterol or salmeterol) and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) (budesonide or fluticasone) should be started in your case.
If this improves your symptoms then you should continue inhaled treatment.
Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.
If not tried, you should definitely try inhaled treatment.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I can understand your concern.
It is good that your PFT values are normal.
But in my opinion, you should definitely try inhaled treatment despite of normal PFT report.
Inhaled treatment in the form of long acting beta 2 agonist (LABA) (formoterol or salmeterol) and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) (budesonide or fluticasone) should be started in your case.
If this improves your symptoms then you should continue inhaled treatment.
Hope I have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wish you good health. Thanks.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Remy Koshy
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