What Causes Breathing Difficulty When Not Active?

Breathing difficulty when not active can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose breathing difficulty when not active, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "breathing difficulty when not active" as a symptom. Here are eight of many possibilities (more below):

Magnesium Toxicity
Ovarian Cancer
Congestive Heart Failure
Mitral Valve Prolapse
Pulmonary Fibrosis
Aspartame/Neotame Side-Effects
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Chronic Bronchitis

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

chronic vomiting

weak appetite

being very easily irritated

vision disturbances

severe right iliac pain

severe muscle weakness

frequent unexplained fevers

unusual vaginal bleeding

frequent episodes of diarrhea

significant abdominal pain

difficult exhalation

chronic dry cough

... and more than 80 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of breathing difficulty when not active:

Cause	Probability	Status
Ovarian Cancer	99%	Confirm
Aspartame/Neotame Side-Effects	23%	Unlikely
Pulmonary Fibrosis	19%	Unlikely
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity	2%	Ruled out
Chronic Bronchitis	0%	Ruled out
Magnesium Toxicity	0%	Ruled out
Mitral Valve Prolapse	0%	Ruled out
Congestive Heart Failure	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate having breathing problems, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

If you ever experience shortness of breath when you are not physically active, how would you describe it?

Possible responses:

→ I am never breathless when at rest / don't know
→ Occasional/mild breathlessness, not a big problem
→ Regular/moderate breathlessness, quite worrying
→ Serious sudden shortness of breath, very worrying

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate no shortness of breath when at rest, shortness of breath when at rest or sudden shortness of breath, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Anemia

Arrhythmias/Dysrhythmias

Ascites

Shortness of breath can occur with large ascites that causes pressure on the diaphragm and fluid around the lungs.

Aspartame/Neotame Side-Effects

Asthma

Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure leads to reduced blood supply to the kidneys, which leads in turn reduced kidney function, and in turn excess fluid retention (edema). The lungs may become congested with fluid (pulmonary edema) and thus the ability to exercise is decreased.

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

Environmental Illness / MCS

Fluoride Toxicity

Magnesium Toxicity

Mitral Valve Prolapse

Ovarian Cancer

Pneumonia

The common symptoms of pneumonia include breathlessness.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Pulmonary Embolism

The most important symptom of pulmonary embolism is breathlessness, which often occurs suddenly and for which there is no other explanation.

Sarcoidosis