What Causes Profuse Sweating And Breathing Difficulty Upon Climbing Stairs?

I am female, 59years old. This weekend was climbing up several stairs and had to stop frequently for a good period of time. I was sweating profusely, nauseous, out of breath and couldn t seem to catch my breath, could feel my heart beating and hear it inside my ears, felt I could have diarrhea and thought I could throw up, I felt terrible to where I seriously wasn t sure I was going to be able to make it up the rest of the stairs. Is this normal or something I should be concerned about? About a year ago when climbing up hill, I experienced the exact same thing. Thank you!!