Feel breathless while walking? Know what’s normal and what’s not

How often do you panic when you feel short of breath even after walking a few steps? Many of us connect breathlessness to either heart or lungs and start home remedies without even consulting a doctor. With few people, what follows after noticing the shortness of breath is a few days of rigorous physical activity to "pump the heart sufficiently and make it work properly" and "doing more exercises so that the body opens up".

This is wrong.

Shortness of breath can be due to a number of reasons. In order to assess the right reason behind it, one should either make note of its occurrence and the activities which trigger it.

Shortness of breath is when the body does not get enough air to breathe in. In this case, the person tends to breathe harder and faster but is unable to provide sufficient air inside. Literally the person gasps for air even.

The medical term for shortness of breath is dyspnea.

The situation can be best described when a non-runner runs for some time and then pants for air.

Shortness of breath is a problem when you experience it even after doing minor physical works like walking stairs or walking normally on an even surface.

Due to this, the normal functioning of an individual is affected.

There are a number of medical and non-medical reasons behind shortness of breath. One can experience breathlessness while being at high altitudes, or when the air quality is at a dangerous level, or when the temperature is too high or even after doing a heavy workout.

There are several medical conditions that trigger breathlessness in an individual. Issues like allergies, asthma, heart problems, pulmonary disease, pneumonia, obesity, tuberculosis also cause dyspnea.

Recently, COVID is also said to be affecting the breathing ability of patients. Many people who have typical COVID symptoms like sore throat, runny nose have also experienced breathing problems during the infection.

Read: COVID leads to unexplainable symptoms, say experts

As mentioned above, a number of reasons can affect the breathing capacity of an individual. “The medical condition depends upon the cause of breathlessness as it can be due to lung, heart, kidney or muscle problem. So if unaddressed, it may lead to major diseases of the lung, kidney, heart or any muscular system. Mainly in lung can lead to irreversible changes if neglected or not diagnosed during the early course of disease,” says Dr Dr Kashmira Jhala, consultant pulmonologist, Apollo Hospitals, Ahmedabad.

It is therefore recommended to take doctor's advice if the issue persists for a long time.

If it occurs due to the result of any event like having a sleepless night or due to high temperature, there is nothing to worry about. If the situation is non-medical and can be improved, so can be the issue of breathlessness.

“Pulmonary lung function test should be done to know lung capacity and underlying problem. It is like a screening test for breathlessness. If it is normal and other functions of the body are also normal, then the person can be kept under observation and monitored during lung function tests on a regular interval,” says the expert.

When the condition persists for a long time, one should definitely see a doctor. “If the symptom is continuous, progressive and associated with other symptoms, then one should not neglect it. If the primary baseline lung function test-pulmonary function test (PFT) is not normal then definitely one should visit a pulmonologist. Post covid, now everyone is aware about the PFT. So, it should be used regularly and commonly to know your lung capacity,” says Dr Jhala.

Read: Doctors explain how a high-salt and a high-protein diet harm your kidneys

Other symptoms like chest pain, chest heaviness, wheezing, coughing, night awakening, snoring, edema of both legs and tiredness should also be checked if one is experiencing shortness of breath says the doctor.