National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Breathing Problems is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
Breathing Problems
When you're short of breath, it's hard or uncomfortable for you to take in the oxygen your body needs. You may feel as if you're not getting enough air. Sometimes mild breathing problems are from a stuffy nose or hard exercise. But shortness of breath can also be a sign of a serious disease.
Many conditions can make you feel short of breath. Lung conditions such as asthma, emphysema or pneumonia cause breathing difficulties. So can problems with your trachea or bronchi, which are part of your airway system. Heart disease can make you feel breathless if your heart cannot pump enough blood to supply oxygen to your body. Stress caused by anxiety can also make it hard for you to breathe. If you often have trouble breathing, it is important to find out the cause.
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Start Here
- Shortness of Breath(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
,
Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
.
For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
,
Reference Shelf
, and
For You
.
For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
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Overviews
- Dyspnea: Overview(National Jewish Health)
- Shortness of Breath(American College of Chest Physicians) - PDF
- Shortness of Breath(American Thoracic Society) - PDF
- Shortness of Breath(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Diagnosis/Symptoms
- Blood Gases Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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Bronchoscopy
(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Chest CT Scan(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
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Chest X Ray(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy(American Thoracic Society) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
- Pulmonary Function Tests(American Thoracic Society) - PDF
- Shortness of Breath(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Spirometry(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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What Are Lung Function Tests?(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Wheezing(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Nutrition
- Shortness of Breath and Eating(National Jewish Health)
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Rehabilitation/Recovery
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MedlinePlus: Pulmonary Rehabilitation(National Library of Medicine)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
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MedlinePlus: Pulmonary Rehabilitation
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Disease Management
- Breathing and Relaxation(National Jewish Health)
- General Procedures for Properly Putting on and Taking off a Disposable Respirator(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
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Living with Dyspnea -- How to Breathe Easier(National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center)
- PDF
- Also available in Spanish
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Specific Conditions
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Breathing Problems? Learn to Recognize the Symptoms of COPD(National Institutes of Health)
- Hypoxemia (Low Blood Oxygen)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
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Breathing Problems? Learn to Recognize the Symptoms of COPD
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Related Issues
- Humidifiers: Air Moisture Eases Skin, Breathing Symptoms(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Return to top
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Health Check Tools
- Wheezing(DSHI Systems)
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Tutorials
- Bronchoscopy(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
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Videos
- Breathing - Encyclopedia
- Also available in Spanish
- Gas exchange - Encyclopedia
- Also available in Spanish
- If I Had - Shortness of Breath(Insidermedicine)
- Return to top
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Anatomy/Physiology
- Atlas of Human Body: Respiratory System -- Structure Detail(American Medical Association)
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How the Lungs Work(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Dyspnea(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Tachypnea(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Dyspnea
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Caring for the older person with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Article: Reevaluating acupuncture research methods: comment on "A randomized, placebo-controlled trial...
- Article: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of acupuncture in patients with chronic...
- Breathing Problems -- see more articles
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Organizations
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Children
- Breath-Holding Spells(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Healthy Living: Helping Your Child Breathe Easier(American Association for Respiratory Care)
- Shortness of Breath in Infants and Children(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Stridor (Noisy Breathing)(Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)
- Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN)(Nemours Foundation)
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Seniors
- Age Healthier Breathe Easier(Environmental Protection Agency)
- Eldercare at Home: Breathing Problems(AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
- Return to top
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Patient Handouts
- Breath sounds
- Also available in Spanish
- Breathing difficulty
- Also available in Spanish
- Breathing difficulty - lying down
- Also available in Spanish
- Bronchoscopy
- Also available in Spanish
- General Procedures for Properly Putting on and Taking off a Disposable Respirator(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
- How to breathe when you are short of breath
- Also available in Spanish
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Living with Dyspnea -- How to Breathe Easier(National Institutes of Health, Clinical Center)
- PDF
- Also available in Spanish
- Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS)
- Also available in Spanish
- Palliative care - shortness of breath
- Also available in Spanish
- Pulmonary function tests
- Also available in Spanish
- Rapid shallow breathing
- Also available in Spanish
- Stridor
- Also available in Spanish
- Thoracic CT
- Also available in Spanish
- Transient tachypnea - newborn
- Also available in Spanish
- Traveling with breathing problems
- Also available in Spanish
- Wheezing
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
- Blood gases
- Breath holding spell
- Breath sounds
- Breathing
- Breathing - slowed or stopped
- Breathing difficulties - first aid
- Breathing difficulty
- Breathing difficulty - lying down
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchoscopy
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Gas exchange
How to breathe when you are short of breath
Hyperventilation
Intercostal retractions
Nasal flaring
Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS)
Palliative care - shortness of breath
Primary alveolar hypoventilation
Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis
Pulmonary function tests
Rapid shallow breathing
Stridor
Thoracic CT
Tracheomalacia - acquired
Tracheomalacia - congenital
Transient tachypnea - newborn
Traveling with breathing problems
Wheezing
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Gas exchange
Languages
Breathing Problems - Multiple Languages
