aetiology
Last reviewed 01/2018
Causes of breathlessness include:
Physiological dyspnoea: the normal breathlessness that accompanies exercise, the onset of which is dependent on the individual's fitness.
Cardiac disease:
- pulmonary venous congestion due to left heart failure of any cause
Lung disease:
- obstructive airways disease, e.g. acute asthma
- chronic airflow limitation, e.g. chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema
- parenchymal lung disease, e.g. fibrosing alveolitis, sarcoidosis, pneumoconiosis: initially produce dyspnoea on exertion. Crackles are usually present on auscultation.
- pulmonary vascular disease, e.g. pulmonary emboli, pulmonary hypertension
- chest wall abnormality, e.g. obesity, kyphoscoliosis
- respiratory muscle weakness, e.g. Guillain-Barre, syndrome, polio, myasthenia gravis
- pneumothorax
- pulmonary collapse
Other causes, e.g. psychogenic hyperventilation, altitude sickness, anaemia.
Breathlessness may also be considered in terms of acute causes and chronic causes - see linked items below.
aetiology of acute breathlessness
aetiology of chronic breathlessness