What Causes Shortness of Breath?

What Causes Shortness Of Breath?

Shortness of breath can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' 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 shortness of breath, 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 "shortness of breath" as a symptom. Here are eight possibilities:

Vitamin B12 Need
Myocarditis
Chronic Bronchitis
Asthma
Congestive Heart Failure
Mitral Valve Prolapse
Pulmonary Fibrosis
Anemia

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:

moderate abdominal pain

edema of the feet

being very skinny

severe fatigue after slight exertion

low hematocrit

slight tongue soreness

having a moderate fever

slightly impaired ability to walk

poor balance

macrocytic red cells

blue/bluish fingernails

mitral valve prolapse

... and more than 70 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of shortness of breath:

Cause	Probability	Status
Chronic Bronchitis	95%	Confirm
Anemia	30%	Unlikely
Myocarditis	27%	Unlikely
Mitral Valve Prolapse	4%	Ruled out
Vitamin B12 Need	3%	Ruled out
Congestive Heart Failure	1%	Ruled out
Asthma	1%	Ruled out
Pulmonary Fibrosis	1%	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.

In the Respiratory Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about how easily you become short of breath:

How easily do you become short of breath?

Possible responses:

→ Never / don't know
→ Only with great exertion, for example running fast
→ With moderate exertion such as jogging
→ Even with mild activity, such as walking
→ Very easily - even when I am not active

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate not becoming short of breath, breathlessness from great exertion, breathlessness from medium exertion, easily becoming short of breath or being short of breath when inactive, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Anemia

Asthma

Congestive Heart Failure

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

Mitral Valve Prolapse

Myocarditis

Pulmonary Fibrosis

The main symptom of Pulmonary Fibrosis is shortness of breath, with or without exertion, made worse by even slight exertion.

Vitamin B12 Requirement

... and also rule out issues such as:

Pulmonary Fibrosis

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