What's wrong with shortness of breath?

When we are young, our lung capacity is generally larger, which is reflected in singing or sports. However, as I get older, it seems that I always lack breath. Sometimes I may become breathless after a little exercise, and I often feel short of breath at work. This is obviously related to my body. So, what is the cause of shortness of breath?

Nervous disorders, excessive tension and anger can cause chest tightness and shortness of breath. Self-psychological adjustment and paying attention to rest are very, very important. Chest tightness, pressure and shortness of breath are closely related to mood. You must maintain a calm mind and relieve stress. Chest tightness is a subjective feeling of difficulty breathing or not having enough air. Those with mild symptoms will feel nothing serious, but those with severe symptoms will feel uncomfortable, as if a stone is pressing on their chest, and even have difficulty breathing. It may be a functional manifestation of the body's organs, or it may be one of the earliest symptoms of disease in the human body. The causes of chest tightness in people of different ages are different, the treatments are different, and the consequences are also different.

1) Functional chest tightness (i.e. chest tightness without organic disease): Staying in a room with closed doors and windows and poor air circulation for a long time, or encountering some unpleasant things, or even having quarrels or disputes with others, or being in a climate with low air pressure, often causes feelings of chest tightness and fatigue. After a short rest, opening windows for ventilation or going outside to breathe fresh air, relaxing your mind and regulating your emotions, you will soon return to normal. This type of chest tightness can be said to be functional chest tightness, and there is no need to worry or seek treatment.

2) Pathological chest tightness (i.e. chest tightness caused by organic lesions): Chest tightness can not only be physiological, but can also be caused by diseases of certain organs in the body, i.e. pathological chest tightness.

like:

1. Respiratory tract obstruction: tumors growing in the trachea and bronchi, tracheal stenosis, and external pressure on the trachea (enlarged thyroid gland, tumors growing in the mediastinum).

2. Lung diseases: emphysema, bronchitis, asthma, atelectasis, pulmonary infarction, and pneumothorax. 3. Heart disease: certain congenital heart diseases, rheumatic valvular heart disease, coronary heart disease, and heart tumors.

4. Diaphragmatic diseases: diaphragmatic expansion and diaphragmatic paralysis.

5. Disturbance of fluid metabolism and acid-base balance, etc. Pathological chest tightness can occur suddenly or slowly. Most of the sudden occurrences are due to acute traumatic or spontaneous pneumothorax, acute asthma, acute foreign body in the trachea, acute heart attack, acute pulmonary infarction, etc. Chronic chest tightness is a condition in which symptoms gradually worsen as the disease progresses. Chest tightness in children mostly indicates congenital heart disease or mediastinal tumors; chest tightness in young people mostly indicates spontaneous pneumothorax, mediastinal tumors, or rheumatic heart valvular disease; chest tightness in the elderly mostly indicates emphysema, coronary heart disease, etc. In short, chest tightness must be taken seriously to avoid delaying necessary treatment. You should go to the hospital for chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, blood biochemistry and pulmonary function tests so that the clinician can further confirm the diagnosis.