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Breathing difficulties - first aid   

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Difficulty breathing - first aid; Dyspnea - first aid; Shortness of breath - first aid

Definition:

This is first aid for breathing difficulty that results from disease or injury. See Heimlich maneuver for first aid for choking.

Considerations

• Pneumonia (infection in the lung) can cause difficulty breathing.
• Shortness of breath associated with heart failure is caused by fluid backing up into the lungs.
• Asthma is a very common cause of difficulty breathing in people of all ages.
• Young, healthy people can suddenly become short of breath, due to a collapsed lung (pneumothorax).
• High altitudes can cause breathing problems, even in young people.
• Direct trauma to the neck or chest can cause breathing problems. Internal injuries are often more severe than they look.
• Pulmonary embolism, or a blood clot in the lung, can cause very abrupt and severe difficulty breathing.
• A heart attack (myocardial infarction) can also cause difficulty breathing.

Causes

Difficulty breathing can be caused by injury, sudden illness, high altitude, or ongoing medical problems (such as pneumonia, heart disease or congestive heart failure, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism -- blood clot in the lungs, or asthma).

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